Plan to house refugees in industrial estate causes concern

Plans to house refugees in one of the largest industrial estates in the country are causing concern in Shannon.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth acknowledged that it is looking at refitting a building for emergency accommodation, at Shannon Business Park, due to “significant shortages” in suitable accommodation.

“Since February 24th, 2022, the department has worked to accommodate an unprecedented volume of persons seeking refuge from the invasion of Ukraine, amounting to almost 55,000 people. The pressure to accommodate almost 70,000 people in such a short period of time has led to significant shortages, particularly for the international protection cohort. Access to suitable accommodation is severely constrained,” the department’s statement said.

“The number of international protection applicants and Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection arriving in Ireland is expected to remain at elevated levels for the foreseeable future.

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“The department has been forced to avail of all offers of accommodation made, including the use of office buildings and tented accommodation, to address the shortfall. While the department is aware that these types of accommodation are less than ideal it is working hard to find solutions, through the use of facilities-management companies in some cases, to offer emergency food, shelter and sanitation provision to both cohorts.”

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It claimed that it would be premature to discuss the matter with representatives of the local community, but said it would do so before the building is occupied.

The Department said that the Office of Public Works (OPW) had offered it the specified building to provide emergency accommodation for those seeking refuge in Ireland but engagement is ongoing and no contract has been signed.

Support model

Clare TD Cathal Crowe said that housing people in an industrial building, some distance from any local amenities, would be very inappropriate. “The support model so far, while it hasn’t been ideal, has concentrated on hotel accommodation and larger buildings owned by the State. I think this is a new departure – in my mind there’s not a whole lot of logic to choosing this building.

“There’s two sides to Shannon as everyone knows, there’s the town side and then there’s the airport/industrial side. It’s fine to work in that industrial area but there’s very little in terms of infrastructure or social supports there to sustain a community of people. I don’t think it’s an appropriate location to have a centre like this located.”

He questioned the capacity of Shannon to absorb another large cohort of people, following the arrival of a large number of Ukrainian refugees in 2022.

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“In recent weeks, my office has had quite a number of queries about people having difficulties getting school places for next year. There are capacity issues in most of the schools in Shannon, so much so that some children can’t be enrolled. I can’t see how this new centre will be congruent with that,” he said.

This week saw stern criticism of the department at a meeting of Shannon Municipal District Councillors, with members criticising the decision to accommodate people in an industrial building and the lack of engagement with the community.

Sinn Féin’s Donna McGettigan said that local people could not believe their elected representatives were being left in the dark. She also said that the lack of engagement was “disrespectful to the people of Shannon”.

Fianna Fáil’s Pat O’Gorman said that the lack of clarity from the department was giving an opportunity to people who want to stoke fears. “There are people out there who will fill the vacuum,” he warned.