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LAST UPDATE | 21 Mar 2019
THE PLAN TO open a Direct Provision centre at a disused hotel in Rooskey, Co Leitrim, has been scrapped.
The Department of Justice said the decision is due to a leasing issue and not related to suspected arson attacks at the former hotel.
A spokesperson confirmed the decision and said the department “regrets that it is not in a position to proceed with plans to open an accommodation centre in the Shannon Key West Hotel”.
They said the decision was taken following legal advice sought from the Chief State Solicitor’s Office which “found difficulties with the lease agreement between the owners of the hotel, and the operator renting it, which made proceeding with the proposed centre unviable”.
The spokesperson said the department is “not party to these lease arrangements and these matters are outside our control”.
They added that the department remains “committed to sourcing suitable premises to meet the accommodation needs of people in the international protection process”.
A regional procurement process for new centres to house asylum seekers is currently under way and will continue throughout the year. Concerns have been raised about the rural location, and related lack of services, of some current and planned DP centres.
Suspected arson attacks
The former hotel in Rooskey was subjected to two suspected arson attacks in January and February.
The site of another planned DP centre, in Moville in Co Donegal, was also subjected to a suspected arson attack in November.
Both centres were due to open in January but the process was delayed after the fires.
The department’s spokesperson said the decision not to proceed with the Rooskey centre was taken “solely in relation to the difficulties with the lease”.
However, Leitrim And Roscommon United Against Racism believes the suspected arson attacks are linked to the move.
In a statement released today, the group said: “Nobody apart from the government thought it was a good idea to house 80 asylum seekers in Rooskey.
However is regretful that the government appear to have backed down in the face of racist arson attacks and a vocal hard-right minority in this area. This will be portrayed by the far-right minority in our communities as a victory for them.
The group said the legal issues surrounding the use of the former hotel as a DP centre “should have been tested fully in court”.
The statement added that today’s announcement “may very well have a negative impact on the ability of the State to house asylum seekers elsewhere”.
Almost 6,300 people live in 38 Direct Provision centres across Ireland, most of which are privately run.
As of this month, 729 individuals have been granted protection status or permission to remain in Ireland – 206 people have refugee status; 441 people have permission-to-remain status and 82 people have subsidiary protection status.
Close to 450 people have been living in DP centres for over five years as they await a decision on their status or subsequent appeals.
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It’s amazing when a union acts worse then the worst employers… they should all leave or hold back their dues..
@Dan: there you have it Dan, when a union becomes a business it acts in protectionist ways. Always thought that type of transfer policy was contrary to freedom of association.
@Greg Blake: siptu aren’t a union, they’re a business. It’s all about the money for them.
You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave…
Honestly best thing I ever did was get out of the Teeu. Went on strike at there request lost a week’s wages for nothing, applied for strike pay refused. And when I rang to cancel my membership they told me that they were close to securing a pay rise country the promptly hung up the phone when I told them I was made redundant and a subbie is doing my job for 17 Euro and hour cash in hand, didn’t even try and help.
Really hope the unions get taken to task using GDPR.
Best of luck to those trying to use the GDPR for this, let’s hope the thread of a heavy fime wil get them to act. Clearly bad press doe not.
Also why does the goverment allow a cartel? I think some of our goverment agencies should look into this behavior.
Esb is a pension provider who just happen to provide electricity
@Bill Clear: and they do a fantastic job of that. Apart from power cuts did you ever get cut off during a strike? In fact they’re one of the best run state companies. Compare that to Irish Water or Eir back when it was eircom and state owned.
Is all of this Union scheming, manoeuvering and intrigue carried out during worker’s personal time or on company time ultimately paid for by the hard-pressed electricity provider’s customers?
A union official with out a full face beard!? Straight away something fishy there.
The TEEU are a joke no problems in taking your money but come up with excuses when you look for help. left them years ago when I met an official from the union who wanted us to go on strike without any funding from them and he left the meeting in a 60k BMW.
Sorry I ended up on the wrong page…….continue what your talking about apologize xxx
With Connect union- Wasting my fiver every week- it’s time we acted /
Shouldn’t they just request it under GDPR?
It could be worst. catch 23 even.
Absolutely useless. The TEEU sent a lad out to speak to us few years ago as apprentices, we were getting rode by the company doing overtime every day plus every Saturday for months at flat rate of pay. Our boss had a heads up they were coming, pulled us into a boiler room and flat out told us to lie and say we were paid correctly plus travel money etc. Under threat of losing our jobs during the recession. The union rep came out and asked us about the pay in front of our boss and foreman so we all meekly nodded and said what we were told to say. He decided this was grand and headed off never to be heard from again. They also send me out letters every so often after I’ve been unemployed looking for various amounts of money in unpaid subs while on the dole
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