Gardaí say further arrests likely following Hotel Killarney incident

Kasi, which has integrated migrants successfully in the town for over two decades, has criticised the numbers placed together in the centre

Eight men have appeared before the courts in connection with the incident at Hotel Killarney. Picture: Padraig Healy

Investigations into a serious public order incident on Sunday night at Hotel Killarney, a hotel-turned-direct provision centre at Park Rd, are ongoing, with further arrests likely, gardaí have said.

Around 24 men have been removed from the hotel and placed in direct provision hotels outside Kerry, gardaí have also confirmed.

While there have been tensions in direct provision centres, nothing of the scale of the Killarney incident has previously occurred in such centres in Ireland, according to Masi (the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland).

There has also been a call by the long-established local asylum seeker support organisation in Killarney, Kasi, to reduce numbers in direct provision centres and to house people along common religious and ethnic lines so as to reduce and prevent tension.

To date, eight men have appeared before the courts in connection with the incident, which took place on January 1. Seven of these men have been released on bail to reside in garda-approved addresses outside Killarney, and the eighth man has been remanded to appear again on January 18.

As well those before the courts, some 16 men believed to be involved in the altercation have been removed from Killarney and placed in direct provision accommodation elsewhere.

The different ethnicity, as well as cultural habits and lack of shared languages of multiple nationalities living together, is felt to have contributed to the clash.

Kasi, which has integrated migrants successfully in the town for over two decades, has criticised the numbers placed together in Hotel Killarney.

The placement of 400 persons of multiple nationalities in Hotel Killarney led to a doubling of direct provision numbers overnight in Killarney. The town is also accommodating around 3,000 Ukrainians.

Board member of Kasi and retired teacher Michael Gleeson has spoken of how “the entire system” of support has struggled due to the number of people in the town.

However, even though the system is under strain, the asylum process needs to be speeded up, he added.

“Nobody should be condemned to stay for more than six months in direct provision,” Mr Gleeson, a former town councillor, has said.

Mr Gleeson, who spoke on Radio Kerry, said numbers should be reduced and people should be housed along ethnic lines; people with a clash in culture and religions should not be forced to live together in one centre, he said.

The vast majority of those who arrived in Killarney are respectful of the town and its people and behave with great dignity, he also said.

On behalf of Kasi, he condemned any racist comments, he added.

Meanwhile, gardaí have slammed as “fake” social media video footage purporting to show a security man in the hotel as injured during the incident at the hotel.