Roscrea councillor Shane Lee has accused the Garda public order unit involved in skirmishes with protesters at a hotel in the town where a group of asylum-seekers arrived on Monday of being “very heavy-handed”, claiming their actions had been “a step too far”.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Cllr Lee said local gardaí had been interacting with protesters at Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea, Co Tipperary since last Thursday.
These were people “who had never protested a day in their lives”, the councillor claimed, adding: “What took place yesterday for me was very, very heavy-handed.”
Cllr Lee said there should have been communication between the Department of Integration and the local community on accommodation the international protection applicants.
He said the people of the town are welcoming, but the services are not there to back up the numbers of asylum-seekers which were coming.
Cllr Lee urged Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman to visit Roscrea to see the situation for himself.
'Roscrea is full'
Asked if he agreed with signs in the town which stated 'Roscrea is Full', Cllr Lee pointed out that between 320 and 400 Ukrainian refugees were accommodated in the town at Convent Hill, and international protection applicants are being housed in Sean Ross Abbey.
“So it's not as if this is the first rodeo in town. In fairness, the town is playing its part, and that's the message that has been made very, very clear to me,” Cllr Lee said.
He said the people of Roscrea are caring and had been very welcoming to the people who had already arrived in the town and were being integrated into the community.
Community activist Derek Russell echoed the sentiment about the lack of consultation with the local community.
“There's no interaction, and I can see how people can get angered when they just get pushed to one side rather than a small bit of cooperation between both sides,” Mr Russell said.
The system for dealing with refugees is wrong and badly thought out, he argued.
Cllr Lee added that, ultimately, it is down to money, claiming a price is being put on the heads of refugees. He said business people are looking to make money, claiming that is what had happened with the owners of the Racket Hall Hotel.
“There absolutely has been no loyalty here to the people of Roscrea by the business owners of the Racket Hall Hotel.
“The people of the town have kept that hotel going for many, many, many years.”
Cllr Lee claimed the issue at hand was the loss of the hotel as an amenity for the local community, stating: “The heart of any community that's in any town is a hotel.”
He said the Government's actions in removing the hotel as a local amenity were “absolutely shameful”.
'Trying to stir things up'
Despite the calls from local representatives for him to visit Roscrea, Mr O’Gorman said he has no plans to do so.
However, he said he will be meeting local councillors and TDs to discuss concerns about local services, which he acknowledged is an issue.
Mr O’Gorman told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that it is unacceptable for protesters to block access to accommodation.
People had a right to protest, but not in a way that had an impact on vulnerable people, he added.
While he said he believes some of the protesters are motivated by concern, he claimed others are “from the far-right” and are “trying to stir things up”.
He added that it was obvious from comments online that some people are trying to “stir up sentiment”.
The Government needed to do better at getting accurate information to the public, Mr O'Gorman said, noting there is a lot of misinformation on social media.
He added there also needs to be better communication of the facts about the rights of international protection applicants.
The people who arrived at Rackett Hall on Monday were families and female international protection applicants, the Minister said.
He added officials informed him that entering the accommodation had been a difficult experience for the group, and some of the children had been upset “seeing the scuffles” outside the centre.
On Monday afternoon, Gardaí confirmed one man was arrested under the Public Order Act. He has since been released, with a file to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
