'Blame the profiteers and the broken system, not the Ukrainians' - Councillor

Public meetings about social problems arising as a result of  the influx of Ukrainian refugees would effectively be putting the wrong people on trial.

That is according to Cllr Marie Therese Gallagher (SF) who believes the blame lies not with people fleeing their war torn homeland but rather, with those who are profiteering from the misfortune of others. 

She further believes that deeply flawed government policies play a major part, allowing  greedy profiteers to move in and take advantage of the plight of the refugees.  

“There are social problems because of the increased numbers and there are human problems because of how some of these Ukrainian people are being forced to live,” she said.

Cllr Gallagher continued: “When you have more than 50 people in bunk beds in a four-bedroom house, that is just disgusting.

“Then you have the numbers in schools, in the health service.

“The system was already broken before any of this. Rural Donegal is not equipped to deal with these extra people. We don’t have the services. 

“Main Street Dungloe had maybe 50 people living there, and now in the space of a few weeks, there are over 200. A lot of them are living like sardines, men and women all in together, children mixed in through them. 

“If you took 50 people from Donegal or anywhere else and put them in that situation, you would have problems, so of course that is going to happen with these people.

“Local people then get scared, and fear causes people to lash out and say, ‘Something needs to be done about this.’”

Cllr Gallagher is calling on those who created the policies to take action.

“The government put a system in place that has led to people going into towns and villages and buying up properties and packing refugees in,” she said. 

“Those people don’t care about the communities.  

“Apart from the Waterfront in Dungloe and Teac Jack’s in Annagary, every hotel and hostel and other accommodation from Bunbeg and Dungloe down until you reach Donegal Town is being used for refugees.”

Cllr Gallagher said a GP  told her that for the last few years, he had to turn new patients away. Now he is being told that he has to take on Ukrainian patients.

 The councillor says it is inevitable that people will be upset.  

“But I don’t believe  public meetings are helpful or right in this situation,” she said. 

“Call it whatever you like, it is effectively putting Ukrainian people on trial. Those people did not wake up six months ago and say, ‘I want to go and live in west Donegal crammed in like sardines with loads of other people.' 

“Rural Donegal was at breaking point already because of neglect from successive governments. 

“A lot of people  took Ukrainian refugees into their homes and aren’t getting a penny. 

“It is the greed that is the problem. It is disgusting.”