Mayo County Council issues warning letter to owner of controversial Ballinrobe hotel

Mayo County Council has issued a planning enforcement letter to the owner of a Ballinrobe hotel which had been used as emergency accommodation for homeless people.

The letter was issued by the Planning and Enforcement of Mayo County Council to the owner of the Railway Inn in Ballinrobe on March 14 accusing him of unauthorised development. The council allege that the change of use of the Railway Inn located on the Kilmaine Road from a hotel to emergency homeless shelter required planning permission and as a result is unauthorised development.

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Commenting on the issuing of the letter, Mayo Aontú TD Paul Lawless criticised the 'reckless use of unregulated premises for housing vulnerable people'.

Copy of enforcement letter sent by Mayo County Council

“This situation is yet another example of the Government’s complete lack of planning when it comes to supporting vulnerable people,” Lawless said. “Emergency accommodation should be safe, properly regulated, and located in areas where there is the necessary infrastructure to support people in rebuilding their lives. Instead, we are seeing unsuitable premises being used without proper oversight, putting both residents and communities at risk.”

The case follows a ruling from An Bord Pleanála, which determined that the change of use from a hotel to a homeless hostel in Dublin’s Paramount Hotel required planning permission. The board found that providing housing for homeless individuals falls under 'care' and constitutes a 'material change of use', meaning that such conversions cannot happen without proper planning approval. 

Deputy Lawless added: “What’s truly staggering is that this situation was allowed to continue unchecked without proper planning, without fire safety compliance, and without so much as a raised eyebrow from those in power until I started asking the questions not being addressed. It should not take a Dáil Deputy to drag this issue into the light before action is taken. Where were the checks? Where was the accountability? This is a clear case of the Government choosing to look the other way until it becomes politically inconvenient to do so.”

Following a number of complaints regarding the use of the hotel as homeless shelter, a fire safety check of the building took place and it has since been vacated.

The Knock-based TD insisted that this should never have been allowed to happen in the first place.

“We are seeing a pattern of unregulated emergency accommodation being set up without consideration for basic safety or the needs of the people being placed there.

“In many cases, these vulnerable individuals are being housed in locations without access to essential services like mental health support, addiction services, or proper transport links. This is not just reckless, it’s cruel.”

Deputy Lawless said Aontú is calling for immediate Government action to ensure that all emergency accommodation is fully regulated, subject to planning laws, and placed in areas where people can realistically access the support they need.

“We need real solutions to homelessness, not quick-fix placements in unregulated buildings,” Lawless concluded.

“The Government must stop passing the buck and take responsibility for providing safe, structured, and well-planned accommodation for those who need it most. And while vulnerable residents were placed into unsafe and unsuitable accommodation, the local Ballinrobe community was left in the dark, voiceless, anxious, and unfairly branded by Government politicians for simply raising concerns.

“The residents and the locals—both failed by the State—are now being undeservedly pitted against each other by a government more interested in pointing fingers than acknowledging its responsibility to both. It’s a disgraceful abdication of responsibility. We cannot keep repeating the same cycle of chaos disguised as compassion. It’s time the Government started planning with people in mind—not just headlines.”