New team will engage with communities prior to refugees moving in

Premises housing refugees and people seeking international protection have previously attracted protests including the blockade in May at the Magowna Hotel in Inch, Co Clare. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/Rolling News

A new team set up by the Government to engage with communities ahead of refugees moving into their towns and villages is to become operational this week, the Irish Examiner has learned.

Eibhlin Byrne is the new national lead for civic engagement on the community engagement team, sources have said. Ms Byrne is also civic engagement lead for the Department of Integration’s rapid build programme.

Former Garda assistant commissioner John Twomey and former Dublin City Council deputy CEO Brendan Kenny will also be on the team along with a number of civil servants from various Government departments.

Sources indicated that Eibhlin Byrne will be the national lead for civic engagement on the community engagement team. Picture: Linkedin

The team, which also will consist of staff seconded from various Government departments, will be tasked with providing advance engagement with communities ahead of refugees moving into their areas.

It is understood that advance engagement will occur where possible on a case-by-case basis with communities on the ground at new site centres where refugees will be accommodated. The team will have access to points of contact in local authorities across the country.

The Government has faced intense scrutiny in the past year for its lack of communication with communities and local politicians prior to refugees being moved into vacant properties. A number of protests took place across the country including a blockade outside a premises in Inch, Co Clare, that was earmarked for refugees.

Minister of State Joe O’Brien said Ireland now accommodates over 90,000 Ukrainians and asylum seekers and it was important to remind people there is still a war going on.

He was responding to questions about progress being made to find more suitable accommodation for refugees who have been moved into tents in Stradbally, Co Laois.

Junior minister Joe O’Brien said tented accommodation such as at the Electric Picnic site in Stradbally, Co Laois, will provide shelter but added that 'we’re very conscious it can only be a short-term measure'. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/Rolling News

“I think the State, my department and minister [Roderic] O’Gorman have responded extraordinarily really the last 18 months,” he said. 

“Over the summer, we were using a lot of student accommodation and we had to move people out of that and we also saw an increase in the number of Ukrainians coming here as well because the onslaught didn’t stop.

“It has been made clear that while Stradbally is [in use] for six weeks as a whole, there’ll be nobody that will spend more than three weeks there at any one time.”

Mr O’Brien said although tented accommodation is “not ideal” it will provide safety and security for a period of time but added “we’re very conscious it can only be a short-term measure”.

He said the department was constantly working to secure new accommodation.

His comments come days after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the use of tents to accommodate Ukrainian refugees and international protection applicants may continue into the winter if the numbers coming to Ireland continue to rise.