Residents committee established as government backs off Corofin

Tensions ease over remote family home tipped for migrant accommodation

Residents at Corofin, Co Clare have resolved to keep a ‘watching brief’ over a vacant property tipped to become a facility to house asylum seekers. A residents meeting at Toonagh, Corofin last night took note of comments from Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman, indicating that his department is ‘not using the site.’

RTE report that Mr O'Gorman said his department does not have plans to set up accommodation for asylum seekers at Corofin, where protests took place over the weekend.

He said the protests were "entirely as the result of misinformation that's been circulated on social media, detailed misinformation, setting out indicative numbers, indicative genders.”

"We are not using the site that has been identified in Corofin, it's never been offered to us and I suppose I can't be clearer than that," Minister O’Gorman said.

The video footage the Minister describes as ‘misinformation’ was taken by tradespeople at the house and shows multiple beds in each room including a walk-in wardrobe and an adjacent shed.

Sentiment at the meeting considered that this was a backing down by government and signalled a win for the local community. Between 20 and 30 locals attended the meeting, which was organised as a residents’ only event following the disruption of a meeting the previous night by an outside group.

The group, the North Clare Solidarity Network, arrived at a location close to the house and conducted a photo shoot with posters as a ‘welcome party’ for asylum seekers. The group spokesperson dismissed local concerns that the location is not suitable and said that is ‘not a valid excuse.’

Rory Fahy of North Clare Solidarity Network was asked by a Clare FM reporter to consider local objections that the six bedroom house in a remote location was not suitable to house 44 new residents. Mr Fahy said he did not know what ‘qualifications’ locals had that allowed them to make that judgement.

“I’m not sure what their own qualifications are to make that judgement. If it was judged by the Department of Children that it was suitable we’ve got take it that the people within the civil service that went and judged it, said it was suitable.”

Earlier that day, the planning section in the local authority confirmed to this reporter that any planning issues arising from use of the house as a migrant facility would be taken out of their hands.

‘Change of Use’ is not required under emergency planning powers for housing new arrivals in Ireland, according to Clare County Council’s planning department.

“If it’s for an emergency they wouldn’t have to apply for planning. And we wouldn’t be involved in it. That would be considered emergency housing and they wouldn’t have to apply for planning,” the planning official said.

However, when asked for the correct title of the Emergency Planning measure to be utilised in this situation the planning official did not know and asked for a written query via email.

At Scool Hill last night, neighbours in close proximity to the six bedroom hilltop house in question, did not want to comment publicly. One neighbour said some were left feeling they ‘had no voice’ as non locals with opposing views arrived in the area. A local man was allegedly struck on the face in a disagreement in the area on Sunday night. Various NGO activists and politicians dismissed local concerns over the use of the family home to house 44 migrants as ‘racist.’

https://twitter.com/sarahmaintains/status/1660319694216126470

Meanwhile, residents at Inch, outside Ennis are maintaining their watch over access roads to Magowna House, following the arrival of 34 Male International Protection Applicants without prior consultation last week.

In Galway city, residents were informed yesterday that 302 people seeking international protection (IP) are to be accommodated at a former office block in Ballybrit Business Park. The building is being repurposed for accommodation to house 302 people in 62 rooms for "temporary emergency accommodation" purposes.

The Department of Integration said that the site will be staffed 24 hours a day and that male international protection applicants will be placed there.

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