Councillors demand meeting with Roderic O'Gorman over Drogheda asylum seeker plans
The four-star D Hotel will accommodate 500 asylum seekers.
Local councillors are demanding a meeting with the Integration Minister over a decision to move asylum seekers into a hotel in Drogheda.
Roderic O'Gorman's department said 500 international protection applicants would be accommodated in the D Hotel from March 5.
Councillors agreed on the cross-party position at an emergency meeting of the town’s Borough District Council on Thursday night and want to know what Mr O'Gorman will do to "put this right".
Deputy Mayor of Drogheda Cllr Kevin Callan said Mr O'Gorman was making a "fundamental mistake" in how Drogheda has been treated in this process.
"What he has done is put the town in a very serious economic situation so we have collectively agreed that we are demanding to meet the minister to discuss the decision that was made around this hotel," said Mr Callan.
He said that the councillors would go as far as taking out an injunction to stop the plan from going ahead if Mr O'Gorman refused to meet with them.
They are requesting Mr O'Gorman explain to them how the decision came to be made, what risk assessments have been carried out in terms of the impact on the greater Drogheda area and "how he is going to make that right" in terms of finances.
"We are also exploring on Monday the option of possibly an injunction, which has just happened in another part of the country to try to stop this if the situation cannot be dealt with correctly by the minister," said Mr Callan.
It emerged on Wednesday the D Hotel on Marsh Road, which has 113 hotel rooms, will close to the public in March in order to accommodate people seeking international protection.
The four-star D Hotel, which overlooks the River Boyne, is owned by Gleann Hospitality and was put on the market last year with a guiding price of €10m.
The group bought the hotel in 2017 and invested more than €1.5m in refurbishing it.
In a statement, the Department of Integration said: “Over 200 properties are being used to accommodate people across every county.
"Despite the efforts of the department, there are not enough beds available to accommodate everyone who needs one, particularly for single adult males.
"As a result, the department is not able to provide accommodation to all single male international protection applicants.
“The community engagement team is engaging with all local representatives, the local authority and the community response forum.
"It has provided them with detailed accurate information about the planned use of the property. The team has also liaised with all relevant national services to ensure that they have the relevant information they need to inform and respond to service provision locally.
"This includes services for social welfare, health, education, transport, justice, and the HSE, An Garda Síochána, the local integration teams and local development office.”
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