Council votes to withdraw refugee cooperation

MEMBERS of Mayo County Council have unanimously passed a motion calling on the staff of the local authority to immediately cease all cooperation with the Government department responsible for housing of refugees in Mayo.

The standing orders for yesterday’s monthly meeting of Mayo County Council were suspended to allow a debate on the motion, which was prompted by protests in Ballinrobe and Castlemacgarrett near Claremorris over the possible arrival of International Protection migrants.

The meeting heard that Mayo had housed its ‘fair share’ of refugees and asylum seekers and ‘enough was enough’, with claims that ‘the fabric of Irish society’ was breaking down as a result.

Up to 20 members of the public were present in the viewing gallery in the council chamber for the debate, while over a dozen more who could not get in waited in the lobby of Áras an Chontae in Castlebar.

‘Serious issues’

THE cross-party motion which was passed at yesterday’s meeting of Mayo County Council which stated that ‘all co-operation ceases immediately, between the staff of Mayo County Council and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth of Ireland, until such time as an agreed strategy is put in place to properly co-ordinate the provision of additional services for the communities hosting refugees and international protection applicants’.

The motion was proposed by Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne, who said that the ‘people on the ground’ were concerned and that councillors have no say in who arrives in the county and where they stay.

“These are serious issues, and we are doing our best to resolve these issues, and to a certain extent we don’t know what is happening. We are not told what is happening until the last minute. Sometimes we are not told until it happens. We are extremely concerned, and that is why we are bringing forward this motion to try and make some progress on it. At the end of the day, we don’t have a say – if we had things would be different,” he said.

The Castlebar-based councillor also claimed that International Protection Applicants were being treated better than Irish people, and it was time Irish people started to come first.

Communication and collaboration

THE motion was seconded by Fianna Fáil councillor Damien Ryan, who told the meeting that the lack of a strategy at government level to deal with the migrant crisis was leading to unrest in communities.

“As a county we have played our part and the absence of a strategy has created a problem nationwide and not just in this county. A strategy is needed and needed very quickly, and the department can roll it out quickly,” he said, criticising the department’s lack of communication and collaboration.

An amendment to the motion set down by Fine Gael councillor Peter Flynn, which was agreed by all sides, stated: ‘Mayo County Council requests the Irish Government to revoke the European Union (Planning and Development) (Displaced Persons from Ukraine Temporary Protection) Regulations 2022’ and that ‘Mayo County Council encourages government to utilise lands where planning permission has been granted but no works have taken place to erect modular or prefabricated housing for the accommodation needs of refugees fleeing wars and Irish people requiring affordable accommodation’.

Cllr Flynn said that the current lack of strategy had allowed ‘faceless speculators’ who ‘do not give a damn’ about communities but were seizing the opportunity to make large profits.

“The last thing we need is social discourse in our society where people start blaming refugees who have no act or part in what has happened,” he argued.

Protests

THE potential use of modular housing at Castlemacgarrett near Claremorris to house Ukrainian refugees was met with protests by local people over the weekend. Claremorris-based councillor Richard Finn said he would join people at any protests against the arrival of migrants if it goes against the wishes of the community.

“It is breaking down the fabric of Irish society,” Cllr Finn said. “People are concerned and don’t want to see single males outside our schools and around creches and around our parks where they go for walks and don’t feel safe. You only have to think about other areas where these problems have arisen, and people are aware of these problems.

“The whole country is sick with what is going on and as far as I am concerned enough is enough. I understand the concerns of the people, and we echo the concerns of the people. We are going to protest at the venues and make our voice heard for the people. If we make enemies from that, that is good, because we have stood up for something in our lives.”

Misinformation

THERE were similar views from a number of other councillors, who stressed that Mayo has more migrants than most other counties and claimed there are not enough services to support everyone.

Fine Gael councillor Ger Deere said a lot of misinformation had been given during the debate on the motion, saying the lack of communication was leading to fear and anxiety.

“There is an awful lot of misinformation out there and an awful lot of misinformation here today, and it is naturally creating a degree of fear and anxiety. There has to be a proper communication strategy… There is an onus on the Government to do that,” he said.

Cllr Deere said he has gotten to know a number of the refugees who are staying around Castlebar through Tidy Towns, and he stressed they want to be part of the community and are doing courses to better themselves.

When Cllr Deere was saying this there was a cry from the public gallery for him to ‘shut up’.

Cllr Christy Hyland stated that there was also a lack of awareness about the difference between economic migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, and he claimed social media was to blame for spreading misinformation.

Kevin Kelly, Chief Executive of Mayo County Council told the meeting that the reason there were a lot of refugees arriving into Mayo was because property was being made available to house them. He added that when it comes to government policy he does not have the leeway to ignore it, but he said he would forward the motion to the relevant government minister.