Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa found dead at their home
Taoiseach to meet Zelenskyy at Shannon today on his stopover to visit Trump
Ferry remains docked in Rosslare after woman dies in incident on sailing from Wales
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at the Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavic. Diarmuid Pepper/The Journal
Magowna House
Varadkar says Clare blockade is ‘wrong’ but that community concerns should not be dismissed
Varadkar also noted that there is a need to ‘acknowledge’ that some of those attending recent protests ‘hold racist views and we have to stand up to that’.
TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said the blockade outside asylum seeker accommodation in Co Clare is “wrong” but cautioned that the “genuine concerns” of local communities should not be dismissed.
However, Varadkar added that there is a need to “acknowledge” that some of those attending recent protests “hold racist views and we have to stand up to that”.
On Monday evening, a bus carrying over 30 asylum seekers arrived by bus at Magowna House hotel in Inch, Co Clare.
Some local people then blocked both ends of the hotel road with tractors.
Political representatives from Clare will have a video call with Minister for Equality and Integration Roderic O’Gorman later to discuss the protest.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns blamed the government for an “increasingly chaotic response” to the migrant crisis and “an abject failure to provide emergency accommodation” during Leaders Questions today.
“The manager of Magowna House knew for three months that asylum seekers would be housed there. But nobody else was told,” she said.
“The local community was not told. Local politicians were not told. Even Clare Immigrant Support Center was not told.”
Minister for Justice Simon Harris responded, thanking Cairns for raising the issue.
“Minster O’Gorman is leading an incredible effort to respond to the largest humanitarian crisis any of us have lived through,” he said.
“I just want to assure Deputy Cairns that the entire government and the cabinet committee chaired by the Taoiseach is coordinating the effort in relation to this.”
“I also, for the information of the House, want to confirm that Minister O’Gorman now intends to open 350 additional beds this week.”
“Ireland’s response to this has not been perfect. I’m not sure any country’s has. But we have achieved an awful lot together as a country and the government has done an awful lot in a short period of time.”
Leo Varadkar told reporters today at the Council of Europe Summit in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik that the blockade was wrong.
“Nobody should have their free access over public roads stopped in that way.”
However, Varadkar added that “sometimes people in local communities have genuine concerns”.
“But I also don’t want to dismiss the fact that sometimes people in local communities do have genuine concerns that need to be listened to,” said Varadkar.
“That’s why there is going to be an engagement today involving the Minister and also local reps to give communities the information, the reassurance, that they need.”
Varadkar noted that communities don’t have a “veto” over who can live in their area.
“Information and consultation, as I’ve always said, is exactly that; it’s not a veto.
“Nobody gets to say who can and cannot live in their area and we can’t have that kind of situation. But I think we shouldn’t dismiss concerns that people have about their locality.
“People do want to know what’s happening and they want certain assurances, and we’ve a responsibility to do that.
Advertisement
“But that doesn’t mean that anyone can say that certain types of people can’t live in their area, we can’t tolerate that.”
When asked if he would call on the protesters to leave Magowna House Hotel, Varadkar said he would “see how the talks go today”.
He added: “We’ll be speaking to Minister Gorman later on and I’m confident that we’ll be able to get to a situation whereby we’ll be able to bring some of the buildings as part of that complex into use for people who need accommodation.”
Varadkar also noted that there’s been over 100 protests over asylum seeker accommodation “in the last couple of weeks”.
“Most of them are very small,” said Varadkar, “but some are larger and a small number have become violent.”
He said that the government has a “responsibility to provide information and to communicate with local people about what’s happening in their area”.
Varadkar added that the government is “stepping up our efforts to do that all the time”.
He also noted that the government must work to “dispel a lot of the misinformation and false stories that are being put about”.
“We shouldn’t not acknowledge what is happening here,” said Varadkar.
“There are people who hold extreme views, who hold racist views, essentially, and we have to stand up to that.
“When it comes to most people, with information and with communication and with assurance, I think you can get them on board.
“But there always will be a small minority of people who have extreme views or have racist views and they need to be stood up to.”
At a Cabinet meeting last night, Minister O’Gorman was said to have appealed for more assistance in dealing with the asylum seeker crisis.
Varadkar noted that he wasn’t at the Cabinet meeting yesterday as a result of being at the Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik.
“So I’m not sure exactly what did or did not happen, but what I can say is that this is a whole of government effort when it comes to the issue of Ukraine and migration,” said Varadkar.
“Minister O’ Gorman is the head of the department of integration, but of course, education is involved as well, 14,000 children from Ukraine are being provided with education or schools.
“Tens of thousands of medical cards have been issued by the Department of Health and the Department of Social Protection are very involved in giving people the welfare supports that they need.
“Every government department is involved in their own way but there does have to be a lead department that is naturally the department of integration.”
When asked if Minister O’Gorman is receiving enough support, Varadkar said that “any support that has been asked for, I think at this stage, is available and has been given”.
He added that “a huge amount of money has been set aside for this” and that the “real challenge has been finding accommodation”.
“The difficulty that we have is that nearly 100,000 people have arrived in Ireland seeking protection in the past year, and we’re struggling to find places to shelter them to keep them safe,” said Varadkar.
“Any time Minister O’ Gorman has approached government for help, particularly when it comes to financial help, that’s been made available.
“Where there have been difficulties is getting staff because we have full employment at the moment, and (there is difficulty in) actually finding places to accommodate people because there is a general housing shortage at the moment.”
Varadkar also commended the gardaí for the job they have done in “managing what can be a difficult situation”.
“They have the full support of government and as you know, additional resources are being provided throughout the course of this year.”
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
91 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa found dead at their home
Updated
2 hrs ago
57.1k
55
Micheál Martin
Taoiseach to meet Zelenskyy at Shannon today on his stopover to visit Trump
2 hrs ago
9.2k
89
Rosslare
Ferry remains docked in Rosslare after woman dies in incident on sailing from Wales
Updated
23 hrs ago
140k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 152 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 104 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 136 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 106 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 78 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 77 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 37 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 33 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 127 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 60 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 75 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 82 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 38 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 43 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 25 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 86 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 96 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 68 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 50 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 84 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 64 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say