Puckaun refugee housing proposal off the table

Puckaun village: Tipperary councillor calls for removal of 'pinch-point' on scenic lake route

placeholder image — Puckaun village: Tipperary councillor calls for removal of 'pinch-point' on scenic lake route

Labour Deputy Alan Kelly has welcomed the news

A proposal to house up to seventy Ukrainian refugess in holiday home accommodation in Puckaun village, has been taken off the table, according to Labour TD, Alan Kelly this lunchtime.

“It’s not enough to just provide this vaccine free of charge to children and those in at-risk groups, this year of all years we must provide it to all citizens for free if we want to try minimise the damage on our Emergency Departments created every year by the flu.

Deputy Kelly, pictured above, told tipperarylive.ie: “ Minister Roderick O’Gorman informed me that his department will now not proceed with the housing of refugees from Ukraine in Puckaun. This follows the representations I made over the last few weeks.

“While I know that we all have to play our part in providing humanitarian aid and assistance, this was not the right move. Bringing up to seventy people into a community of 220 would not be correct and would have resulted in major logistical issues, apart from the fact that major work would have to be done to get the accommodation ready.

“I am very happy that this outcome has come about and I acknowledge and thank Minister O’Gorman for his openess and his willingness to listen. The residents meeting scheduled for this week will not now go ahead,” Deputy Kelly said.