Huge meeting in Laois hears ‘We don’t want them here’ - IPAS Centres

A HUGE crowd turned out in Durrow last night, Monday 21 July, to voice their opposition to plans to locate two International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres in the village.

The ballroom of the Durrow Arms hotel was packed to overflowing when up to 300 local people expressed their concerns should the facilities get planning approval by Laois Co Council.

Durrow Community Council had organised the meeting.

In attendance were cllrs Ollie Clooney, John King, James Kelly and deputy Sean Fleming. Deputy Brian Stanley sent his apologies for his absence.

Opening the meeting was community council chairperson Ethel Dunphy.

Secretary Mary Monahan told the gathering that two objections to the developments on Mary Street had been submitted by the community council. She said the property’s owner, Marc Lennon, was invited to the meeting but had declined to attend.

She said: “We don’t want unvetted males in this town. We’re hoping the whole parish will back us on this. We all have kids and grandkids. We don’t have services in the town either. The school has full classrooms as it is. The preschool and créche are full. We don’t even have our own GP in the town. We share a GP with Rathdowney. Our garda station is not manned 95% of the time.

“We’re on about single men. Once Marc Lennon signs on the dotted line, he’ll have no say as to who goes into those two centres. He’s telling everyone that there’ll be families, mothers and children, but he doesn’t have any say. Once he hands over his premises, IPAS can put whoever it likes into it.

“Look at Roscrea, for instance. They’re drinking on the streets, graffiti on the walls, they’re tormenting poor creatures going into the local post office. We don’t want them in our town here in Durrow.

“There are army fighting aged men,” said one person, to which Ms Monoahan replied: “Well, they should be fighting in their own countries. We don’t want them here.” 

One woman said that the property’s owner in Durrow “thinks that he’s going to win the lotto of getting children and their families put in there. We might get three or four children, but before we know they might be replaced with single males. They’re males from everywhere. Not all will have the same religion. They’ll be fighting against each other. They’ll be isolated. Some will go on to be homeless because they can’t live in those centres. They’ll go out and the next thing they’re setting up tents in Dunmore woods and everywhere else all around. That’s what’s happening all around the country. There’s so many being found living in tents because they’re homeless.” 

The woman said: “Not everything gets reported on. Last year alone, there were 65 critical incidents in IPAS accommodation centres where seven led to deaths. A quarter of those incidents were largely down to mental health and the rest down to staff attacks and on other residents. I guarantee you, if all the men in this room (meeting) were put into one of those centres for one night, they’d end up annoying somebody.” 

Cllr James Kelly said: “There is no contract offered or awarded yet (from IPAS) to Marc Lennon. What he’s doing is setting it up to apply for a contract.” 

He said that currently in one of the properties there are Ukrainian refugees being accommodated, adding: “Where do they go if they are already settled in the community? They have children going to school and some are working locally. What happens them if an IPAS contract is awarded?” 

He told the crowd that the last date to lodge objections to the planning applications with Laois Co Council is Wednesday 13 August.

“There’s 1,700 people on Laois Co Council’s house waiting list. These two building in Durrow have a capacity to provide 21 bedrooms. So, put three or four people in each, that could be 80 people in Durrow. I believe a local businessman is selling out their own community. I believe it’s a money-making exercise. With possibly 80 people at possibly €88 a day, it doesn’t take much to add up the maths to €1.8 million a year,” said cllr Kelly.

Cllr Ollie Clooney said: “It’s services we need in Durrow. Not these. We have to fight these and we’re on our way to fighting it with such a crowd tonight. Let them be in no doubt as to the opposition there is. We don’t want these. It’s as simple as that and we’re sending out that clear message. It’s all about money. Defeat this we will.” 

Cllr John King said: “There’s power in numbers. If one objects that’s better, but if 200 objects that’s even better. Ukrainians are very different to the refugees that are coming in. I’d accept Ukrainians in preference to other people that we don’t know an awful lot about. We will make it quite clear we will not support an IPAS centre in Durrow.” 

Deputy Sean Fleming noted the crowd at the meeting is “representing a total cross-section of everybody in Durrow and surrounding areas.” 

He said: “No contract has been signed by IPAS in relation to these two premises. More importantly, no application has been made to IPAS for the premises. As of now, neither premises meet the planning requirements for IPAS to even look at. It they don’t get planning approval, they can’t even go to IPAS.” 

He pointed out that no planning permission was required for the Ukrainian refugees who are currently accommodated in one of the proposed premises as there were special planning exemptions in place at the time. But to accommodate IPAS residents, planning permission is required.

Deputy Fleming said that with two different premises seeking planning approval, two separate objections need to be submitted to Laois Co Council.

He said: “The only place in the county that has a large number of IPAS people is in the old Montague hotel. Different people are going and coming there. I have never heard a peep out of them. People want them going to schools in Emo. They’re playing camogie, girls’ football, everything.” 

One man said: “Fianna Fáil voted in favour of the EU Migration Pact last year.” 

Replying, deputy Fleming said: “Going back over the past 20 years, there’s been people in the Montague hotel and a lot of them who have come have been entitled to their citizenship. Ask the people around Emo and around that area, the people of Emo welcomed them with open arms.

“Ireland is a country that needs people from outside the country to come in. Go into Portlaoise hospital. The overwhelming majority of consultants that we rely on are not from Europe.” 

“What about those that are coming in and are ripping up their passports,” asked another man?

One man said that he was in full support of the IPAS centres.

Derry Townsend from Portlaoise said that statistics show that there are no high criminality rates among people from outside Ireland “whether they are from Germany, Paraguay or any country from around the world. There is a system in place for applicants.” 

A number of people tried to shout him down.

Mr Townsend continued: “Just because you don’t like what I say. Everyone is entitled to put in an objection and that is your right, but I will support it. I call on you to look and to think about this. Can anyone put up their hand who’s had in the past 100 years someone who was close to them who emigrated to countries at a time when Ireland was desolate. We left en masse and we were called every racist name across the world.” 

One man shouted at Mr Townsend: “You talk about people coming into this country. I’ve been in them countries where they’re coming from and they’d slit your throat for the runners on your feet. And that’s what your supporting.” 

Another woman said: “I have a daughter who works near the proposed IPAS centre and she wouldn’t be finished till about 10.30pm at night. I do not want my child walking out of work and coming across those scumbags.” 

Another contributor said: “My mother and relations all went abroad. They weren’t given food, weekly money. They made it on their own. I welcome people into this country who are nurses, doctors or anyone with a skill. Anyone who will stand and work on their own two feet and not depend on Irish people to support them. I don’t have a major issue with genuine asylum seekers. But there are flights coming into Ireland, people getting on them with their papers and getting off without them.” 

She said: “There is an element of criminality coming into this country. I would fear for my children and my grandchildren. People need to be aware. We need to know who these people are. People coming in undocumented is not good enough.” “We all care about genuine people with genuine causes, but if people really cared about asylum seekers we would not be allowing the dumping of people into this country who we don’t know who they are.

“They are being pimped out with any amount of brothels, human trafficking and everything. What protection have they in these refugees sites? What can we as a village offer them? We can’t offer them anything. I’m all for cultural enrichment, but there’s nothing to enrich them here. It’d be inhumane to bring people to live in those two buildings that look like squats.” 

 The meeting agreed that the next move would be to set up a protest committee and compile objections to the two premises and forward them to Laois Co Council before the closing date of acceptance on Wednesday 13 August.