Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
Updated 16.48
AN IMPROMPTU MEETING of Roscommon County Council has told concerned local representatives that 80 refugees who are expected to be accommodated in a newly refurbished hotel will eventually be integrated in different communities throughout the country.
The refugees, who are mostly of Syrian extraction, are expected to be housed in the Abbeyfield Hotel in Ballaghaderreen on the Mayo border side of the county within the next 10 to 15 days. A further 80 people are expected to arrive in February, and then another 80 on top of that in March.
At present Ballaghaderreen has a population of just under 2,000 people.
Councillors were first made aware of the plans yesterday afternoon after an email from the Department to the council executive.
Roscommon’s CEO subsequently called this morning’s meeting in order that Department officials might brief the county’s councillors as to what plans are in train and what facilities will be available to the refugees.
“Some of it was informative, though the whole thing is a fait accompli,” said local Athleague councillor Ivan Connaughton of the meeting who, while bemoaning the lack of consultation with local agencies, said he expects the refugees to be “welcomed with open arms”.
“We were informed that the reason we were given such little notice is because the accommodating of these refugees is an emergency measure,” he said.
The people of Ballaghaderreen are a welcoming people, and they will welcome these arrivals. But the question needs to be asked, this move will increase the local population by 20%, will it overstretch the services available locally?
The Department of Justice says this was the only suitable location in the country. Has the Department looked into what services the town actually has?
Department response
The Abbeyfield Hotel contains 35 bedrooms, with a further 29 apartments on its grounds. It’s understood the contract to house the incoming refugees extends for two years, with plans in place to house a maximum of 240 people.
The relevant refugee relocation strand, whom the Ballaghaderreen centre will seek to house, is focused on families and children. 240 people have thus far arrive in Ireland under that strand, nearly 50% of them minors. A further 166 are expected to arrive in Ireland from Greece in the coming months.
The Department of Justice, in response to a query from TheJournal.ie, described the prospective facility in Ballaghaderreen as an Emergency Reception and Orientation Centre (EROC) which will be used to temporarily accommodate asylum seekers.
“These cohorts are expected to receive a grant of international protection within a period of roughly 12 weeks, their stay in EROCs is intended to be short-term after which they will be housed somewhere in Ireland,” a Department spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that Roscommon council was the first to be informed of the plan “at the earliest possible opportunity”.
The Department has an overriding responsibility to accommodate refugees, often at short notice given operational realities. This limits the opportunity to consult broadly prior to signing a contract and it should be noted that the operational reality of accommodating refugees in a particular location only arises once a contract is signed.
Little details are available at present concerning what plans and facilities will be provided for the incoming refugees, although a pre-school facility has been mooted.
Roscommon County Council meanwhile acknowledged that the first it heard of the new plan was after being contacted yesterday at 4pm by the Department of Justice.
In a briefing document circulated at this morning’s meeting, the selection of the Ballaghaderreen property was justified as “it was the only one available that met requirements and would be ready in reasonable time”.
That document also affirms that the selection of a property for such purposes also gives due consideration to the availability of appropriate services locally.
The briefing document can be viewed here.
Earlier
Fine Gael Senator Maura Hopkins, a Ballaghaderreen native, in advance of this morning’s meeting said that “a number of questions need to be answered” with regard to the move.
“I’m not convinced that appropriate plans are in place for this,” she told TheJournal.ie. “There has been no engagement or consultation with the people of Ballaghaderreen, and like all small towns, this is a very close-knit local community.”
You’re talking about 250 people coming in. Ballaghaderreen has a population of just under 2,000. That’s one in eight people when this happens.
I’m very much in favour of Roscommon doing its fair share, but one in eight would be significant for any community -we need to be sure the proper resources are put in place.
“We need to know what extra resources will be put in place in order to be convinced that these people are properly supported. But we also need to be sure that the community and town of Ballaghaderreen is able to cope with the arrival of people who need a high level of support,” Hopkins added.
Lack of warning
Fine Gael councillor from Castlerea Liam Callaghan meanwhile suggested that the biggest issue surrounding the announcement is the lack of warning given by the Department of Justice.
“The news only came through late to be honest,” he told TheJournal.ie.
“It’s hard to gauge as yet, it came as a shock initially. The Abbeyfield closed during the boom and was only renovated during the summer.”
It had been expected that the hotel would reopen as a tourist facility for connecting with Knock and type of thing, which would have been a great boost to the town. But that’s out the window now. So from that line there’ll be disappointment.
There’ll be concern in relation to how the refugees would be integrated, where they’ll go to school. The Abbeyfield is surrounded by residences, all this has to be tracked out today. But the biggest problem is there was no word on it, and it’s something that’s obviously been planned for quite some time, yet there was no dialogue with us.
Callaghan added that he presumed “people would be open enough” to the idea of refugees coming to their town.
“These people have gone through trauma, that has to be respected,” he said.
Boyle councillor Rachel Doherty of Fianna Fáil said that she was not in a position to comment on the situation as yet as things are relatively unclear at present.
“The email only came through yesterday evening,” she said. “I’m sure we’ll have a lot of questions, but this broke so late, we wouldn’t even be in a position to gauge local opinion as yet.”
Athlone representative Paddy Kilduff meanwhile described the issue as a “fait accompli”:
“We’re being brought in to be told this is happening. The best we can hope for is that there will be proper facilities in place.”
First published 10.30am
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
How is a swimming pool a tourist attraction ? It’s surely locals of west Dublin going for a swim
The NAC isn’t just a swimming pool. It has a small water park with a few slides, lazy river, wave pool and others I’m probably forgetting.
I take your point Chris but I’m going to go ahead and agree with Tony on this one. I’m not sure this should ever class as a tourist attraction.
I wouldn’t classify it as a tourist attraction, either, to be honest. I just had to clarify that it is not just a swimming pool.
Going by that criteria why isn’t Croke Park up there. With all the matches and concerts every year attendances are in the millions.
Few countries in the world can compare for natural beauty, and for all our faults there is a decency and goodness in Irish people that can be rare to find elsewhere. Sure we are not loved throughout the world as we would like to believe, but that is our own fault because the way a minority behave abroad. We have a wonderful culture that many of us have forgotten, great music, creativity and a brand that most countries would love. And to those who have left, hopefully some day we can welcome them all back some day to a better country, to a better home with some hope for the future. We live in ana amazing country, lets enjoy it!
Many thumbs up!
I was lucky enough as a child to have a father who loved to drive. He took us all over the country. I am grateful to this day for him showing me so much of this country when I was younger.
Stop posting your link in every thread, please
The old romantic view – but we’re deluding ourselves. Our culture is as good as most, no more. And having been forced by the Christian Brothers, and the system to learn Irish (a dead language, virtually) and play Gaelic games – I have preferred and chosen other places to reside.
Just one example, the UK. Steeped in history and where O’Casey, Joyce and Wilde chose to live and work from an early age. The arts there are legendary, as is its education and sport. We tend to live in the past.
Gaelic games, for instance, are still followed avidly here – but nowhere else. Whilst soccer is played in every country on earth (c220) – with over 3.3b currently watching the World Cup. A game invented by the English.
Yes Will – I am one of ‘those who have left’ also. And have no wish to return; I, too, was forced to learn Gaelic (which I never used), attend mass (which I no longer do) and to play Gaelic games (which I stopped, ASAP.
Ireland may be a fine country – but I often wonder why so many had to be pressurised into becoming a stereotype. A fews days in Rome NYC or Venice – would be much more attractive than Dublin or Taytoland……….
There is a difference between living in the past and actually remembering or respecting it. British people tend to have complete amnesia about their history when it comes to imperialism and the slave trade. Most countries are very selective about their history, Ireland and the UK are no different.
Different countries have contibuted differently but equally to the world whether its Karaoke, Halloween, soccer or pasta. I don’t get eith these comparisons which are often inadvertedly used to fuel nationslism. No country is better or worse.
Always surprised that the Guinness storehouse comes top. It’s really not a great experience
I’m a home brewer and while Guinness is the only commercial beer I’d happily drink (Murphy’s great too but don’t live near a Murphy tap), the experience is extremely good imo.
It explains the brewing process very well and in a very accessible manner. I’ve been to the Heineken and Kronenbourg’s respective equivalents and it is very good.
Most places are more like vineyard experiences and I include Jameson in that.
I do not think it is value for money however. It is very expensive but as an attraction I think it’s well done.
It’s a money msling racket!
There’s a list to keep your kids off iPads , phones , computer games for a few weekends . Get out and enjoy what’s on offer .
*Sent from your iphone :p
So Dublin then !!!! I know thousands of other places NOT in Dublin that should replace most of what’s on that list ! There is more to IRELAND than DUBLIN !!!!
It’s based on pure visitor numbers. Dublin is by far the most visited in terms of tourists so it naturally will dominate the list.
Yeah like Cork and Kildare and Meath…oops sorry they’re already on the list!
To
The butter museum in Cork city has yet again been mistakenly passed over!
As has indeed the English Market
I think footfall in the Market would be difficult to judge.I love the place and would recommend it to anyone but trying to figure out who is local and who is a tourist is not really possible.
The National Aquatic Centre?! Really?!
What about Muckross
Been to most of them. But for me Fota Wildlife Park (if that’s want you want to call it !) was a major disappointment.
You mean the overpriced glorified “exotic” farm where all the animals are depressed off their heads, couldn’t agree more!………. Ps if anyone from Fota happens to read this for gods sake clean the water down there it’s horribly murky and full of rubbish oh and give the animals some quality of life, that poor eagle in that tiny enclosure (small cage) looks like he needs a good feed of prozac not to mention all the other poor creatures depressed off their heads, for the money your charging it shouldn’t be a problem!!!
Number 5 looks like it could be a dole que
Be nice to see the Boyne Valley up there or any of our historical monuments further afield ie outside the major cities. The convenience of the Dublin and Cork attractions is plain to see but there is no denying the breadth and variety of our attractions. Also, wasn’t that impressed with Fota Wildlife Park recently, but then again, I am comparing it to Dublin Zoo, which I love.
I would have hoped the national leprachaun museum would make the list. My favourite Dublin attrsction by far,
Too small!!! Too small!!!!
A jail – are you joking me?
No wonder Tourism Ireland has been pestering the government – for years – to invest in some new activity-based attractions.
Such as they have in most other countries in Europe – including those equivalent to the size of Ireland.
Build it, and they will come.
Im very pleased that the jail made the list. Its the one thing I always tell visitors to do when they come here.
Its well run and the tour guides are very knowledable, Im sure that alcatraz would be on the list in california.
AFAIK Tayto park got, or are in the process of planning permission for a few roller coasters.
Don’t put down Tayto… You might have a chip on your shoulder. Sic!
The cliffs of mohar are not as spectacular as I expected .. giants causeway is much more cooler
Stick on Dublin Liffey Board. All kinds of wild life there
Been too all
The “Barack Obama ” plaza will be number one next year..can’t wait
6 out of the 10 are in Dublin i don’t think so….
have your say