Protestors at Tipperary hotel worried about expected influx

Locals in the Dundrum area are protesting over Dundrum House Hotel being turned into an International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) centre for asylum seekers.

Last week, Independent Cllr Liam Browne hit out over an “admission in the Dáil by Minister Roderic O’Gorman that Dundrum House was to be used to house hundreds of asylum seekers”.

Cllr Browne said: “The admission was made in response to a question put to Minister O’Gorman by Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath. Minister O’Gorman confirmed that a contract had been signed with the current owners of Dundrum House, which means that as the current Ukrainian refugees leave the west Tipperary hotel, they will be replaced by International Protection Applicants, and that the hotel will not return to public use as a tourism venue for the foreseeable future.”

Minister O’Gorman, speaking in the Dáil, said: “The Deputy is right that, for two years, the hotel in question has served as accommodation for Ukrainian families. They have been supported and integrated into the community. Our need for Ukrainian accommodation is less now and our need for accommodation for International Protection Applicants is higher. In light of that, we made a decision, in agreement with the provider there, that this accommodation will now provide accommodation for International Protection Applicant families. I have no doubt Deputy McGrath will show leadership in supporting that same level of welcome that was provided to Ukrainian families to international protection applicant families.”

Speaking with the Tipperary Star, Fiona Kennedy, a local of the Dundrum area and one of the protestors, said that they are being lied to by the Government.

She said: “There seems to be no attempt to restore the hotel to what it’s supposed to be. Our Taoiseach has said the only hotel in the area should not be used for this (IPAS) accommodation.

“This is the only hotel in the area,” she said.

She spoke about how IPAS centres are not being set up in Ireland for empathetic reasons, but she claims they are being set up “solely for financial gain”.

She said: “None of this is being done out of compassion, it’s a money making exercise, and the money that is changing hands is unbelievable, and unfortunately the Government is allowing businesses to sell out their communities, sell out just for a mighty buck, you know, and that’s really the thrust of it.”

Fiona spoke about the loss of tourism in the area, and how people who might have holidayed in Dundrum and its hinterland now find themselves unable to do so.

She said: “They came, they stayed at the hotel, they played golf, they went on tours, they went in around Cashel, they spent money in the village, here on the shops, the chemist, you know, everywhere. They went up into Cashel, Tipperary Town, they went down through The Vee, they went down to Cahir, down to Swiss Cottage, Cahir Castle, all of that.”

“None of that spend is here now when there are no holiday makers and there is no holiday accommodation, and people have stopped coming to the area because they can’t get accommodation,” she said.

The hotel has been home to refugees from Ukraine for a number of months, and the locals have said that these refugees have integrated well into the community, on some occasions even joining in the protests at the gate of the hotel, but they state their concern at present is the prospect of a large volume of asylum seekers and IPAS applicants coming to live at the hotel, and their fears that the hotel and greater community cannot accommodate for these numbers.

Speaking on the matter, Philip Kinane, another gate protestor, and Dundrum local, said: “We’ve had family days from members at the gate, bringing their families with the Ukrainian families, now it’s not just Ukrainian families here at any given time, there’s nine to ten different nationalities here and they pretty much have got on pretty well.”

“Their families have mingled with our families, and we get on very well like, we’d a lovely day up in the woods, in Westons Lot two Sundays ago,” he said.

The group’s main causes for concern include the lack of knowledge as to who is entering their community, and the rapid increase in population size.

Fiona said: “We’re not allowed to report crime by race, by ethnicity here in Ireland, and you know what, that’s fine. I’ve no major problem with that, all we can go on is the evidence that’s out there from other countries, from other communities.”

“Now we could be really hopeful and say listen, they’re telling us its women and children, maybe it will be women and children, but do we really believe that Dundrum will be lucky enough to buck the trend?”

“We’ve seen what happens in other communities, bus loads of women and children come in and then they are moved out after a couple of days and then it is all undocumented, unvetted men in the main, I can’t say all but it is in the main.”

“When you talk about numbers, there is of course the family reunification scheme that is open to anybody coming in under IPAS where they have 12 months in which they can ask for I think it’s up to six family members to come and join them in their new life here in Ireland so 500 people inside in Dundrum House Hotel could turn into 3,000 people very very quickly,” she said.

They also wished to thank the politicians who have stood with them throughout the protest, and wish to urge any politicians who have not showed support for them to do so.

“Liam Browne, Mattie McGrath, and John O’Heney were here as well I know. John Crosse has called a few times as well.”

“But we would like more vocal support, people need to stop being afraid to say what they believe in, you know, and it's as simple as that really,” Fiona said.
More information on the protest can be found on the group’s Facebook page: “No to Dundrum House Hotel IPAS Centre”.