Electric Picnic site owner defends decision to house 750 Ukrainian refugees on site

Stradbally Hall owner, Thomas Cosby, has said criticism of a decision to house 750 Ukrainian refugees on his land is based on “paranoia”.

The refugees will be housed in tents on what is the site of the Electric Picnic for the next six weeks. The first 27 of them arrived on Tuesday from Ukraine, just as the festival site was being dismantled.

Mr Cosby and councillors were among those who attended a fractious public meeting on Tuesday night in Stradbally , in which locals complained that they had not been consulted . They complained the refugees would increase the population, which is currently 1,400, by 50 per cent in a short period of time, putting a stress on public services locally.

The Electric Picnic site owner said the information given to locals was based on “toxic” Facebook forums.

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He had been informed by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, which is responsible for housing refugees, two weeks before the festival that it was interested in taking over the “glamping” yurts to house refugees.

When asked as to why he did not inform locals earlier about it, Mr Cosby responded: “By the time we had figured out that we were able to do it, got the personnel in place and got all the kit bought up and the deal signed, it was the middle of the Electric Picnic.

“You couldn’t have a public meeting during the Electric Picnic. At the end of the day, those who are coming are women, some of their husbands and children. The idea that this is going to turn Stradbally into a violent ghetto is nonsense.”

He was told by the department the housing of the refugees in tents was a temporary measure until the holiday season is over in September and more hotel rooms will become available for the winter. He stressed there was no indication from the department that the refugees would be staying any longer than that.

The refugee camp will have its own catering on site, the children will be schooled there and residents have their own medical facility, he explained. Each tent will have access to a heater. “It’s not ideal. Nobody is saying it is ideal,” Mr Cosby added. “Nobody envisaged there was going to be quite the volume of people coming into the country. This is a response to an emergency situation.”

[ Electric Picnic tents to house up to 750 Ukrainian refugees ]

Locals contacted by The Irish Times did not respond to a request for comment but local independent councillor Aisling Moran, who attended the meeting, said the main gripe that people had was the lack of information. She had only been told as a councillor on Friday evening that it was happening and residents were informed over the weekend.

She also said locals were also motivated by humanitarian concerns and wondered how refugees will cope in tents as the weather gets colder and wetter. “All people wanted was to be spoken to and involved in it. People last night wanted to help. There were very few who wanted anything else,” she said.

Local Fianna Fáil councillor Paschal McEvoy said locals are more reassured now that they have found out who is coming and are eager to help. He will be organising a committee through the St Vincent de Paul locally to help those who will be staying on the Stradbally Hall site.

Laois Integration Network volunteer Karen McHugh, who attended the meeting, said the absence of consultation with locals is something the department still needs to deal with. “Generally, there is no consultation. These decisions come from central Government.”

Ms McHugh said “we will work with what we know” and as far as she is concerned, the refugees will be there for just six weeks.