Protest ends in Ballinrobe after deal reached to house refugees
Protestors outside Gannon's Hotel in Ballinrobe yesterday after their campaign had been stood down. Picture: Conor McKeown
Plans to house 50 male international protection applicants in a Ballinrobe property have been changed, with the Department of Integration confirming yesterday (Monday) that the premises will now be used to house families only.
The department’s decision came after a stand-off that saw dozens of people engaging in a 24-hour protest outside the former JJ Gannon’s Hotel on Main Street in the town.
Organisers claimed there was a lack of consultation and voiced concerns over the suitability of the site given its proximity to a creche.
Protest leader Michelle Smith said the Government had treated the people of Ballinrobe “disgracefully” but lauded the way everyone in the community came together on the matter. She said the people of the town were pleased that the families who are now coming to live in Ballinrobe will “no longer be sleeping in tents”.
“We engaged in a peaceful protest and Ballinrobe will now welcome families with open arms. We can now confirm that 50 males will not be coming to Ballinrobe today, tomorrow, or this week”.
Ms Smith told the Western People she was disappointed at how sections of the national media tried to dismiss their views as far right. “We’d love to have families coming here that need help. We’re such a welcoming town. There’s not one racist person here. We’re standing here with various nationalities over the past few days. We’re just generally concerned. We love bringing people into the town.”
Frank Keane, chairperson of Ballinrobe Community Development Council, called for funding to ensure the people who arrive have the proper services around them.
“The lack of transparency has led to a lot of uncertainty and the protest has come from that. We need adequate time to give us a chance in the community to put the services in place for people in need.”
The Department of Integration said: “The department’s contract for accommodation in Ballinrobe to provide temporary shelter to International Protection applicants in JJ Gannon’s Hotel is proceeding. It is intended that up to 50 people in need of shelter will be accommodated at the premises.
“While initially earmarked for adult males, there is now an acute shortage of accommodation for families and children and it is now intended to place families into this property over the coming days.”
“Emergency centres such as this one in Ballinrobe have been opened in all parts of the country. There have been over 190 accommodation locations utilised since January 2022 across 26 counties.
“These options must be considered to prevent homelessness for people arriving seeking international protection.
While welcoming the Department’s decision, Ballinrobe native and Fianna Fáil Cllr Damien Ryan has called the handling of the entire affair “despicably bad” from the start, with local councillors only learning of the news via email at 2.45pm last Thursday.
He has called on the Department and the Government to publish a national strategy for how counties will house asylum seekers in future.
“The Department took our views on board and nobody denied their responsibility or the obligations that they have to meet,” Cllr Ryan told the Western People.
“But that being said, it’s very important that the people were listened to.
“The national strategy should have been rolled out a long time ago and put to public consultation.
“The percentages in Balbriggan should be the same as the percentages in Ballinrobe.
“If they give us a national strategy based on the national constituencies, in turn, we roll out a county strategy at a local level.
“It’ll be fair and equal across the municipal districts.
“I think that’s the way to go and the public would buy into that and that hasn’t happened.
“There’s people from a raft of countries here, working here, for some 25 and 30 years.
“There’s a huge range of different populations that have made Ballinrobe their base and have integrated fantastically into the community.
“There’s no doubt that we’ll move past this episode and we’ll have learned lessons in relation to how it all came about but I think the Department needs to learn the lesson.
“I have real issues with the way they handled it.”
