Bruckless hotel owner reaffirms refugee plans 

The owner of the Ringfort Inn has confirmed his intention to house around 150 Ukrainian refugees in the Bruckless guesthouse. 

Amid concerns of a group of locals, who have scheduled a public meeting for this Sunday, Robert Lynch says he plans to have the building - which has been vacant since 2012 - occupied by Ukrainian refugees by ‘January or February at the latest’.

Remedial works are ongoing at the Ringfort Inn, which Mr Lynch says will consist of 22 bedrooms when the works are completed. 

In July, the Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien, signed an order which allows vacant buildings to house refugees for a period of five years without planning permission. 

Latest figures show that 7,006 Ukrainian refugees are now living in Donegal.

Sixty objections against planned development works at the Ringfort Inn - including the construction of a 16-bedroom extension and extensions to the lobby and dining room - have been lodged with Donegal County Council.

“The problem isn’t the people, it’s the lack of infrastructure,” local resident Gerard Boyle said ahead of Sunday’s meeting. “We have no issue with the Ukrainians, but there is a problem where you’re putting 150 people into an area that can’t take them.  The schools can’t cater for them, we have no Garda in the area and the doctor is already overwhelmed.”

Mr Boyle chaired previous public meetings in the area on the matter.

Mr Boyle said: “We have tried to get answers, but we have just been bounced back from Department to Department and we are getting absolutely nowhere, but this man is powering on ahead. 

“He is pushing on and giving the two fingers to the Donegal County Council and to the parish here. There is just no care being shown to the people.” 

Local Councillors and TDs have been invited to the meeting at the Dunkineely Community Centre.

While the natives of Bruckless say that their concerns and objections have been ‘ignored’, Mr Lynch strongly refuted that suggestion.

“There was never any infrastructure in any community in Ireland to deal with people fleeing war,” he told Donegal Live. “If I didn’t have respect for the community there, I would have put IPs (International Protection applicants) into the place. I bought it in 2017 and it hasn’t been occupied since 2012. 

“The building has been lying there since 2012. I have a building there and an extension that needs to be paid for.

“I went to a public meeting myself in Dunkineely when people told me to send a representative. I am not hiding behind anyone or anything. I will address any issue, provided it is reasonable. I have told people that they are more than welcome to come up to the Ringfort Inn and I will show them around the facility. 

“There are areas that have seen their tourism decimated, but this is not taking away from any tourism. In the meantime, I need to get the building paid for and there are no consequences for the tourism of the area.”

Mr Lynch also owns the Rusty Mackerel in Teelin.

His company, Slieve League Hotel Ltd, has been asked to clarify 13 points in relation to a planning application for the Ringfort Inn.

In respect of the concerns raised by the locals, Mr Lynch told Donegal Live: “I can’t build schools or the like. 

“There are 60 submissions against my planning, but not one of them thought for one minute what it would be if it wasn’t a hotel.”

Mr Lynch said three of the 22 bedrooms may not be able to be used to accommodate refugees as they are required for staff with the facility needing to be staffed 24 hours a day.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has confirmed that the Ringfort Inn has been offered to the Department for the accommodation of Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection from Ukraine.