'Loud minority' slammed for stoking up refugee resentment

THE director of housing services at Mayo County Council has hit out at what he described as the 'loud minority' in stoking up fear and resentment over refugee accommodation in the county.

Tom Gilligan pointed out that according to UN figures, 110 million individuals are displaced throughout the world – and that number is growing on an annual basis. We are facing a new norm, he said, which is important to note.

"Problems in housing and health are not the fault of refugees. The country has had a problem in these areas for years," he stated.

He added that he is very conscious of a 'loud minority' trying to stoke up fear and resentment.

“We need to stand up to these aggressors. They have their own agenda. The reality is that we have a duty of care, a humanitarian responsibility.”

Mayo once had 300,000 people, he continued. A lot had to leave and seek out new opportunities elsewhere. Now there was an opportunity for us to give back and honour the past.

He was speaking after elected members of Mayo County Council in the Ballina Municipal District area asked for better communication from management regarding the housing of refugees in the locality.

Councillor Mark Duffy asked for an update on the planned movement of a group into a unit at Moy Valley Business Park in Ballina at the June monthly meeting of the authority.

Mr. Gilligan said he advised the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on May 19 last about a large facility in the business park that may be suitable for refugees.

That same evening he got a reply from the department that it looked promising and they would follow up on it the following week.

There is precedence with refugees already accommodated in the N5 Business Park in Castlebar, and he reminded members that Ireland has to follow EU directives and the council is following and implementing government policy.

Mr. Gilligan admitted that the business park accommodation is 'not ideal' but added that there are very few options.

They have to use buildings of a certain scale, and the scale of the building in the Moy Valley Business Park would allow them to accommodate in the region of 200 people.

The director of services said they are working with the department and other key stakeholders in relation to the matter, and would be working with the local community around it too.

He added: “We will continue to implement government policy as long as we are asked to. That is our role.”

Councillor Seamus Weir said some locals had concerns that everyone moving into the facility was male, but Mr. Gilligan said they did not know the make-up of the group yet.

Councillor Weir continued by saying people who arrive here need to be properly looked after and a business park is not ideal accommodation.

He added: “In fairness to Mr. Gilligan and the council, the finger cannot be pointed at them. It's government policy – although I do not know if it's a good one or not.”

Councillor Michael Loftus – who queried what other locations, if any, are being looked at for housing refugees – criticised government policy that allows people to enter the country without a passport. In that instance the policy should be to turn people around and send them back.

He argued that the country is 'too free' at the moment in relation to taking in refugees and the whole issue would have to be looked at.

Councillor Annie May Reape said she and her colleagues should have been informed of the Moy Valley Business Park proposal, adding that Ireland will have to start saying 'No' to people entering the country until the necessary services are in place.

Councillor John O'Hara agreed that no one should be permitted into the country without a passport. He also queried what the plan is for the future. “Where is the accommodation going to come from in the long term?”

His Fine Gael colleague, Councillor Jarlath Munnelly, acknowledged that there is a global crisis, with every country being impacted. Britain left the EU in large part to control its borders and that had not worked.

However, he put it to Mr. Gilligan and the council that they needed to maintain contact with the councillors on this issue. “We need to have open communications; we need to know what is going on. The whole thing could be handled a whole lot better, and that starts with communication.”

Councillor Munnelly added that Mayo County Council should not be talking to the department unless they know where people are coming from, and they should find out what supports are coming too.

Councillor Duffy, who raised the matter, said many people seeking international protection have been allocated to Mayo over the past two years and it has been a success story. Many of those who arrived have helped in volunteer groups and are looking for jobs. However, nasty people are trying to whip up fear, divide people and create an 'us versus them' narrative.

He suggested that councillors should go and meet those who have arrived in the county. They had not been given that opportunity. Doing so would take the fear out of the situation.

Councillor Duffy, who pointed out that the refugee policy is not using existing county council housing stock, agreed with his colleagues that communication is all-important.

Concluding, Mr. Gilligan said he would get back to Councillor Loftus in relation to his question regarding other locations that are potentially being looked at.