Government u-turns on housing male asylum seekers in Carlow in favour of families
Capuchin Friary building, shown via a red line, on Dublin St in Co Carlow. Picture: MyHome.ie
The Government has done a u-turn on housing 50 male asylum seekers at a premises in Carlow and said families will be offered shelter there instead.
It comes after protesters began gathering outside the former Capuchin Friary building on Dublin St in Co Carlow on Wednesday morning.
A major protest had been planned for outside the building on Wednesday evening.
Local representatives and TDs have criticised the Government for its lack of communication on moving 50 asylum seekers into the 15-room premises.
Fianna Fáil TD Jennifer Murnane O’Connor said she only learned on Tuesday that the site would be used and said the support mechanisms required for a large number of refugees had not been adequately addressed with local service providers or communities such as local healthcare and education.
The u-turn to house 50 males at the site comes less than 24 hours after local TDs were told they would be housed there in the coming days. It comes just days after a protest in Mayo also saw the department agree to offer accommodation to families and not males following protests outside a premises in Ballinrobe.
A spokesperson for the Department of Integration confirmed to the that despite initially planning to use the property in Carlow to house men, following a departmental meeting on Tuesday night, a decision was made to provide the beds to families due to the increasing number seeking shelter.
A spokesperson for the department said: “Although it had initially been expected that the property would be used to house men, following a departmental meeting last night regarding the increasing number of families, and despite the ongoing acute shortage of accommodation for single males, it has been decided that the requirement to prioritise families must take precedence.
The department said it is a “nationwide urgent situation and emergency centres such as the one in Carlow have been opened across the country.
This is a nationwide urgent situation and emergency centres, such as this one, have been opened in all parts of the country. There have been over 190 accommodation locations utilised since January 2022 across 26 counties.
The property in Carlow consists of 15 rooms and the department has said there are sufficient numbers of bathrooms and showers for the number of residents and there will be a self-catering service provided on the site. The department also said there will be a manager and security staff on site at all times and each resident will have their own lockable bedroom and 24-hour access.
Fianna Fáil TD Jennifer Murnane O’Connor had said she was “extremely disappointed” that department officials failed to engage and consult with local authorities and communities before making their decision. She said she is understanding and aware of the State’s obligations to support and accommodate refugees seeking international protection and safety.
She said: “This repeated failure by department officials to be open and transparent with local communities is generating ill feeling in many towns and communities which could be avoided by more transparency.”
The Carlow TD said she is concerned that the support mechanisms required for a large number of refugees has not been adequately addressed with local service providers or communities such as local healthcare and education.
She said: “We already have many people waiting for basic GP appointments and other health and educational services, and this, combined with the ability to locally support these large numbers of refugees is a major concern for local people as has been evident in social media comments and by the many telephone calls and messages I have received throughout the day.”
The Carlow Says No group organised the protest over what they say is a “lack of consultation” with local residents and businesses.
However, another post last night on the account read: “A protest will start from 9.30 [Wednesday] morning. Let's get down and show that Carlow doesn't want migrants dumped in our town only a hundred metres from an all-girls' school.” In the briefing note to TDs, the department said the State is currently providing 26,279 asylum seekers with accommodation in addition to the 74,830 people who have fled the war in Ukraine, In the last six months there has been an average of 560 people seeking accommodation every week.
Meanwhile, gardaí are investigating a fire at a property in Sandyford, Dublin, that far-right groups had claimed would be used to house asylum seekers. The premises which was undergoing renovation went on fire on Sunday evening, days after claims circulated online that it was being converted for use as accommodation for asylum seekers.
It’s understood the alarm was raised by security personnel and no one was injured.
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