Stress in communities due to lack of communication and stretched resources

Cllr Felim Gurn said there has been a lot of stress in communities in Ireland with regard to International Protection applicants being located in communities and there is regularly a lack of infrastructure and stretched resources in terms of health care, schools and community facilities, and a lack of consultation with community groups on this issue. 

He called on the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to engage in much greater detail on this issue with the local communities involved, so that successful solutions and satisfactory infrastructure and resources can be delivered to meet the needs of the community.

Cllr Gurn said: "There's misguided information and I think that's a lot of the problem going on here."

Cllr Gurn said that he has had dealings with many Ukrainians who've come to the county and said many of them are highly qualified professionals but can't work in Ireland "as they're outside Europe."

He said he felt that the lack of communication and lack of infrastructure in many of the towns and villages where they are being housed, were the key issues. 

He said there needs to be joint thinking between councils, "that we actually know, as elected representatives, what's going on?" 

Cllr Padraig Fallon had a similar motion at the meeting asking for extra support to make available Government Departments to help accommodate and integrate those seeking International Protection refuge in County Leitrim.

He said: "There is a greater need for support to be made available to communities where such individuals or families are located."

He said he believed that direct provision is "degrading" and "not a nice place to be" and said that in his view, "the system around accommodating and processing asylum seekers is broken". 
He said that the housing crisis "affects almost every family in this country and intense competition for stretched health services and school places." 

He said the communication is an issue and "we've seen that in north Leitrim" and "misinformation is then an issue because there is a lack of information". 

He said more funds need to be made available in Leitrim from the Communities Integration Fund. 

Full story in next week's Leitrim Observer...