Department of Integration disputes Garda claims of 'very short notice' around housing of asylum seekers

Commissioner Drew Harris told the Policing Authority that they were only informed at short notice by local councillors that some 70 international protection applicants were due to be brought to Ross Lake House Hotel in Co Galway. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

The Department of Integration has hit back at criticism from Garda bosses that gardaí are getting “very late” notice about the intended use of buildings to house asylum seekers.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and deputy commissioner Anne Marie McMahon said that gardaí need to be informed early about plans to open centres for asylum seekers so they can conduct a risk assessment and put in place an appropriate security response.

Commissioner Harris told the Policing Authority that they were only informed at short notice by local councillors that some 70 international protection applicants were due to be brought to Ross Lake House Hotel in Co Galway. 

The hotel was set on fire on Saturday, causing massive damage.

The Department of Integration has, however, disputed the garda account and said their officials gave a "full brief" to gardaí at least a week before the asylum seekers were due to arrive.

Ms McMahon, head of garda policing and security, had said notification about asylum accommodation centres comes “invariably late in the day”. She said: 

It’s a constant challenge. And certainly, if we take the events that occurred at the weekend, that was certainly very late and notification came through an informal route.

Ms McMahon said it was of critical importance that gardaí were kept "in the loop" about accommodation plans at the earliest stage possible, pointing out the responsibility of gardaí “to keep people safe”.

Policing Authority chair Bob Collins also expressed his dissatisfaction that gardaí were continuing to be excluded from relevant information by government officials.

In response, the Department of Integration, which has responsibility for finding housing for international protection applicants, said its Community Engagement Team (CET) did give timely notification to gardaí about the Galway situation.

It added: “The CET issued a full brief regarding Ross Lake Hotel to local elected representatives and State agencies, including An Garda Siochána, on Friday, at least one week prior to the expected arrival of International Protection applicants at the hotel.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed that gardaí were informed in writing but for "whatever reason, that message didn't get through to all the right people on the ground".