LAST UPDATE | 23 Jul
MARY LOU MCDONALD has said if the decision was being made again about the setting up of a centre to house asylum seekers in Coolock, she wouldn’t choose the area.
Speaking at the launch of her party’s new policy document on immigration, McDonald failed to answer if she believes plans for the Coolock site should be scrapped.
A fifth fire in as many days broke out this week at the former Crown Paints site in Coolock, Dublin where violent anti-migrant protests have been taking place.
While the Department of Integration had previously confirmed that the old Crown Paints factory would be used to house people, protests followed by scenes of violence broke out last week when a Government-contracted provider attempted to begin work on the site.
Some in the community have said that there has not been adequate engagement with the community on these plans, a point which McDonald reiterated to the Taoiseach in her phone call with him this week.
She told reporters today that other areas are “better off” in terms of having better access to services and infrastructure, stating it would be a “fairer ask” if centres were set up in these areas:
The facts are these – if you’re starting from the start, would you place this centre in one of the most deprived communities in the state? No, you wouldn’t.
“Would you attempt to do that with no regard to that reality and no consultation with the community living there? No, you wouldn’t,” she said.
“Government have now signed a contract with the private individual, matters are moving ahead. And at this point, the absolute imperative is that dialogue has to happen and in my opinion, it has to happen very urgently, and I shared that view with the Taoiseach,” added McDonald.
However, given that a contract has already been signed, McDonald said it is now imperative that dialogue with locals in Coolock happens “very urgently”.
She added that, while there is a dangerous criminal element “stirring the pot”, there are also concerns from locals about the level of resourcing in the area.
“We want Coolock to be a safe, calm place where people are listened to,” she said.
‘Deprivation’
It is Sinn Féin’s “bigger ambition” to ensure that no community is left behind anymore, she said, stating that there should be no “black spots of deprivation and neglect”.
McDonald said she made such points to Simon Harris, stating that she also told him that repeating the line that “consultation has happened” with a community “is doing nothing to rectify the situation”.
In her opinion, it is only adding to community anger, said the Sinn Féin leader.
“So government now at need to get their act together. I think they need to move very, very swiftly because what has been created is a very unacceptable situation of community anger and deep frustration, which is well grounded, may I say, but also a scenario where others, a small element, but a dangerous element, are now stirring the pot,” said McDonald.
The violent scenes that have emerged in Coolock which has resulted in injuries, has to stop, she said.
“We want Coolock to be a safe place where people are listened to,” she told the media today.
Sinn Fein recently determined that it needed to provide increased clarity on the party’s immigration policy platform, following worse-than-expected results in Ireland’s local and European elections.
It launched a new policy document on international protection today, which it would said fix the “broken” system by only putting new centres in areas that have sufficient services.
McDonald denied that the new policy on immigration is an act of chasing votes following the party’s hemorrhaging support.
Sinn Féin is responding to an area being neglected and left behind, she said, adding that the community is now being told there is going to be further demand on very limited resources.
“So are we responding to that reality? Yes, we are. We’re not chasing anyone. I just want to be clear about that,” she said.
McDonald said she is very aware of the toxicity that the topic can induce, remarking on the death threat that was made against her last week.
“I had an experience last week where a threat was made against me… I had to go and talk with my kids, with my mother. The toxicity and danger in this situation is real. And we are very, very conscious of it. Not just for us as public figures, but this is awful for the good people of Coolock,” she added.
McDonald said Sinn Féin deplores racism and “we will face it down every single time”.
“There is no place in our society for that. That will stretch and challenge the cohesion of our society,” she said, while also stating that her party will also not accept the stigmatisation or name calling against poor communities.
The commentary she has witnessed, whereby there has been name calling and finger- pointing against communities is “very dehumanising to young kids”, she said.
She said there are “all sorts down there” at the Coolock site.
“There’s kids just being kids and gawking and getting involved. There’s another element that’s criminal and by the way, the gardaí need to grasp that and they need to have every resource to grasp that. But not for a second should everyone imagine that because those criminal actions have happened, that that is what Coolock is. That’s not true,” said McDonald.
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