Frustration is mounting among local councillors and Oireachtas members over the lack of details surrounding plans to house International Protection Applicants (IPAs) at the Riverwalk apartment block in Castlerea.
With renovations underway to potentially accommodate approximately 50 people, the lack of clear information has heightened community concerns. These concerns have manifested in the form of peaceful demonstrations at the property in question and outrage from local politicians about the lack of communication.
Fianna Fáil councillor Paschal Fitzmaurice, a grocer whose business is in Castlerea, emphasised that local housing needs should be prioritised: “Firstly, there are many local people who are looking for accommodation and these apartments should be offered to local people first”. He also raised concerns about the potential impact of integrating a large group into a small community: “I believe [it] may cause problems and may bring a fear factor”.
Despite numerous attempts to contact IPAS and other officials, Cllr Fitzmaurice says he has received no concrete information, which he finds unacceptable: “After many phone calls [it] has yielded no response. I won’t be making speculative comments until we get clarity”.
He continued: “I do believe everyone should get accommodation of some sort but this should be in large towns or cities with full services and migrants should be processed quickly as to whether they can stay in the country [or not]”.
Cllr Fitzmaurice continued: “I think Castlerea is not the right place for this style of accommodation due to a housing shortage and it being a small town with limited services”.
Independent Ireland Councillor Nigel Dineen voiced strong criticism of the Government’s approach, stating: “I am absolutely disgusted to think that it seems to be government policy not to consult with the people”.
He described his efforts to clarify the situation, stating that he had made multiple unanswered enquiries to Roscommon County Council and government departments: “The Council management are in the dark, the councillors are in the dark and most unfortunately and importantly the people are in the dark”.
An auctioneer by trade, Cllr Dineen was adamant to address rumours of his auctioneering business being involved in the sale or acquisition of the property in question: “My auctioneering business has had zero transactions with the subject properties, this is a matter of public record and the one or two people stating otherwise should be cautioned from a legal standpoint”.
Addressing the work he had done on trying to obtain information from national authorities, Councillor Dineen said: “On the 8th of May, at 5.30 am, I wrote to Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice’s office to clarify this situation and this was very swiftly sent to Minister Roderic O’Gorman’s office seeking information. To date (May 14th), I have had no response from his (O’Gorman’s) Department, which is simply totally and utterly unacceptable”.
Independent councillor, Anthony Waldron, from Ballintubber, also spoke to the Roscommon People about the situation: “I’ve been saying it since 2007, no-one should be coming into the country without being vetted. Now, it remains to be seen if that will be the case here, but in all likelihood, we’re dealing with the prospect that at least some of the people who will be moved into Castlerea will be unvetted”.
Echoing the shared concerns of his fellow councillors, Councillor Waldron alluded to the fact that there are many local people who have housing needs that are going unmet and added that nothing sows disquiet quicker than people feeling as though “others are receiving preferential treatment when it should be a case of one rule, applied equally, for all”.
“Have we learned nothing from the tragic case of Aisling Murphy?” asked Councillor Waldron, referring to the murder of school teacher Aisling Murphy in Tullamore in January of 2022. Jozef Puška was convicted of her murder in November of 2023. Mr Puška had pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been granted leave to appeal.
