Protesters in Ireland have blocked access to holiday homes used to house migrants, claiming asylum seekers were taken there ‘underhanded’ and citing concerns about fire safety and sewerage.
A group of 34 asylum seekers were accommodated in three holiday homes on the grounds of Magowna House Hotel in Inch last night.
However, access roads to the site were then blocked by local protesters using tractors with another gate blocked by a silage bar.
Today, some asylum seekers expressed fears about the ongoing situation, while one of the tractor drivers, who declined to give his name, said locals were concerned about fire safety and sewage management at the site.
He said they expected another bus to arrive and the asylum seekers to be moved ‘underhandedly’.
“So we closed the roads, we blocked the roads so a second bus couldn’t get in.”
He said this was because there would be “70 people in this place with nowhere to go,” and wondered how the asylum seekers would integrate into the community.
Four asylum seekers decided to leave the accommodation during the protests.
Asylum seekers outside accommodation at the Magowna House hotel in Inch, Co Clare
Silage bales used to block access to accommodation for asylum seekers
A woman delivers homemade brownies to the asylum seekers outside the Magowna House Hotel
Asylum seekers, who told reporters they were heading for Dublin, left the hotel grounds
Protesters said they would not prevent an asylum seeker from leaving, and those blocking access to the site let some members of the media through and said they would allow food deliveries.
Secretary of State for Community Development Joe O’Brien said the hotel did not have a fire safety certificate, but there was no problem with fire safety or wastewater management in the vacation homes.
“I’m just asking people to lift the blockade, I think it’s done on the basis of a misunderstanding of what happened,” he said.
Mr O’Brien said work is underway at the hotel and people will not be accommodated there until it is safe.
He added that there are 500 asylum seekers without accommodation and that the government is “looking at every possible angle and every possible case.”
Concerned about the isolated location of the holiday homes, Mr O’Brien told RTE’s Today with Claire Byrne that a shuttle bus would be sent to Ennis for asylum seekers who wanted to access services there.
There were tense exchanges outside the center with some asylum seekers wanting to leave due to concerns about their safety and lack of satisfaction with the accommodation.
Some asylum seekers took their belongings and left them outside in preparation for departure, while others said they were happy to stay.
Sultan Muhammad, from Afghanistan, said he came to Ireland five months ago and was staying at Citywest in Dublin.
He described the Co Clare situation as ‘difficult’ but said the accommodation was ‘okay’.
‘We feel good here. I like it here. I like it, I’m going to live here.’
A Fianna Fail TD for Clare said there is a lack of information about how asylum seekers are accommodated on the site and that ‘someone has put the cart before the horse’.
Asylum seekers outside accommodation at the Magowna House hotel in Inch, Co Clare
Asylum seekers leave the accommodation
Last year, the Clare district council decided that Magowna House in Inch was not suitable as a shelter for Ukrainian refugees, he said.
Magowna House could not be used.
“It wasn’t fit for purpose last night so they’re crammed into outbuildings on the property and I just think someone put the cart before the horse here,” Mr Crowe told RTE’s Morning Ireland.
“I believe that if you’re going to bring people into a facility, it has to be safe, it has to be a hygienic environment.
“The question is whether Magowna House is already at that level.”
Mr Crowe said he hopes to meet Minister for Equality and Inclusion, Roderic O’Gorman, this afternoon.
He said the protesters are “entitled to their concerns.”
He said he visited the hotel earlier that day and saw beds being placed.
“I went out because there was a lack of information and my office was bombarded with emails and phone calls,” he said.
“We got a briefing note from the department late Thursday, but there was still a lot I couldn’t answer.
‘It [the briefing note] related to the mechanics of the situation: that there would be a contract between the department and the owner, that it would initially be for a duration of 12 months, that there would be a manager on site, that the meals would be on site be cooked and that it would be for men in the international protection system.”