Calls for Minister O’Gorman to meet locals as protest continues outside Ballinrobe hotel

A local election candidate has called on Minister for Children, Disabilities, Equality, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, to meet with people in Ballinrobe as protest against the planned accommodation of 50 male refugees continues outside a local hotel.

This morning (Friday), approximately ten men were gathered outside of the front of the hotel, which had been due to accommodate 50 male international protection applicants today (Monday). 

Local county councillor Michael Burke said on Saturday that he had been told by the property owner that the Department of Children, Disabilities, Equality, Integration and Youth had withdrawn the lease agreement for the property.

In a statement issued to The Mayo News, the department said that they were ‘continuing to engage with the provider in relation to the premises in Ballinrobe and is not in a position to comment further.’

Local people have maintained a constant presence outside the hotel since news of the proposal to house international protection applicants broke on Friday afternoon.

Over 50 people were gathered outside of the hotel on Sunday evening, including a number of men from Eastern Europe.

Several people who spoke to The Mayo News outlines various concerns regarding the hotel being used for male refugees, including its proximity to a nearby pre-school.

Paul Lawless, a local election candidate for Aontú, has called on Minister O’Gorman to meet with local people regarding the issue.

Calling for a ‘sustainable and manageable immigration system, Mr Lawless stated: “The plans to accommodate 50 males two doors from Nead na nÓg pre school without any consultation with parents, the creche owners and the wider community is wrong.

“I spoke to one mother whose child attends pre-school who is very concerned. She showed me the smoking area of JJ Gannon’s which directly overlooks the Nead na nÓg pre school. Another mother highlighted the fact that 60 percent of asylum applicants arrive in Dublin Airport without documentation, meaning their past history is unknown.”

Speaking to The Mayo News on Sunday, Mr Lawless said that the premises was ‘not a suitable building for 50 men’.

“Possibly women and children, perhaps they could even use the crèche in Ballinrobe and contribute to it, but I can very much understand the concerns of the people here in Ballinrobe.”

Michelle Smith, one of the organisers of the ongoing demonstration against plans the plans to convert the hotel into refugee accommodation, told The Mayo News that a petition opposing the proposal had received over 1,000 signatures on Sunday evening.

Speaking to this newspaper on Friday evening, Ms Smith said that protesters would remain at the property ‘as long as we have to’ to prevent the hotel being occupied by refugees.

“The community spirit here has been fantastic, but at the end of the day, this on the Main Street of Ballinrobe, there is a play school two doors down, we have kids going to school here and the businesses here need to be protected, because these foreign nationals will come in with 38 euro a week. What are they going to do and where are they going to go? They have no facilities here for them,” said Ms Smith.

Protesters have received fuel, food and other supplies from local people since the demonstration began on Friday evening.

Two men, who said they were there in a work capacity, attempted to enter the property on Friday morning but were refused by demonstraters.

A constant garda presence has been maintained on the property since Friday.

When asked about the matter on Saturday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told RTÉ’s This Week that one that communities did not have a veto over the accommodation of refuges.

The Taoiseach was responding to comments from his fellow Fine Gael party member Michael Burke, who attend a gathering on Friday in support of the protest alongside Cllr Patsy O’Brien (Independent) and Cllr Damien Ryan (Fianna Fáil).

Taoiseach Varadkar said he ‘totally’ acknowledges that local people have concerns and fears which must be allayed with communication and provided information.

“I also need to be very clear. Nobody in a free society, nobody in a democracy has a right to exercise a veto on who moves into their area or community. That doesn’t just apply to international protection,” he said.

“I have said back to him [Michael Burke] very clearly the situation we are now facing is that the alternative to providing accommodation centres is people on the streets.

“We already have 400 people at the moment who we are not able to provide any accommodation for. So, this isn’t an ideal situation.”

The protests have been condemned by United Against Racism’s Mayo branch, who called for local people to oppose the protests.

Ballinrobe native Rory O’Neill, better known by his stage name Panti Bliss, has also criticized the opposition to the hotel being used as refugee accommodation as ‘shameful’ on X – formerly known as Twitter.

There will be further coverage of this issue in Tuesday’s print edition of The Mayo News.