An air of uncertainty surrounds proposals to house 50 asylum seekers in a disused hotel in Ballinrobe Co Mayo from Monday, despite assurances from a local councillor that the plan has been abandoned.
Fine Gael councillor Michael Burke said on Sunday evening he was happy to take the word of the owner that his offer of a lease to the Department of Integration had been withdrawn.
However the protest to block access to the former Gannon’s Hotel in Ballinrobe town centre is continuing with those taking part expressing doubts that the plan has indeed been shelved.
“We are very sceptical”, said one of the protest organisers Michelle Forde, as she stood by a log fuelled brazier.
She added: “We still have nothing in black and white. We would like to think the owner – who was born and bred here – has had a change of heart. We don’t have any facts.”
Another objector, Carla O’Connor was one of about 20 people in the protest group outside Gannons all-day Sunday.
“We will stay until kingdom come if necessary,” she said, adding: “We want an official statement from the owner that he has withdrawn the offer of a lease to the Department of Integration for the current project.”
Ms O’Connor, who runs a local business, says Ballinrobe has been a welcoming destination for migrants who have settled in well and shown hospitality.
The plan, she continued, to house 50 men in the centre of a small town with a creche close by is “certainly inappropriate”.
“The people of the town are very uncomfortable with that,” she noted.
Despite icy weather conditions objectors have maintained all-night vigils all weekend.
They promised to be out in force from dawn on Monday in case an attempt is made, as originally scheduled, to house some or all of the asylum seekers.
The fact that large amounts of foodstuffs as well as bags of firewood are constantly being dropped off by passing motorists is an indication of the support the protesters have garnered.
The protesters insist they are 100 per cent local with no input from anybody with a far-right ideology.
“This is a local protest only and we want to keep it local,” insisted Carla O’Connor.
Another participant Padraig Costello said he wanted to believe what they were told about the lease being withdrawn “but unfortunately precedence in other places has shown you can’t accept things in blind faith”.
Mr Costello said services in Ballinrobe are already stretched with the number of refugees accommodated locally disproportionate to other areas in the country.
“The town is already at capacity as regards services,” he said. “What [the Department] are doing is jamming 50 people down the town’s neck and saying deal with them. It’s not fair on them or us.”
In a statement at the weekend the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said it is “continuing to engage with the provider in relation to the premises in Ballinrobe, and is not in a position to comment further”.
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