Independent Councillor for Tallaght South Patrick (Paddy) Holohan has said plans he has seen to develop a disused property in Tallaght village into an accommodation centre for asylum seekers look “like a bee’s nest”.
Speaking to Gript Holohan said that the plan to turn St. John’s House into an asylum centre was “the worst kept secret” in the area despite a significant amount of time having elapsed before confirmation of the plans was given by the Department of Integration.
The Department of Integration confirmed to Gript on Monday that they are considering an offer in respect of the property saying, “IPAS is responding to an offer of accommodation made in respect of this property.”
d“A full assessment of the property will need to be carried out by IPAS when works are completed by the owner. If a contract is agreed, it is hoped that this property can be brought into use. Local public representatives have been informed of this.” it said.
A query as to the number of prospective occupants of the building remains unanswered.
Holohan said that despite what he says were repeated denials by the owner of the building that it had been offered to the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) he had managed to obtain the plans.
He said the plans contain eight beds per room and consist of approximately 20 rooms with a kitchen/dining area and bathrooms/showers etc.
Regarding the existing influx of asylum seekers in the Tallaght area, Holohan said that, according to information he had requested from South Dublin County Council, 8/10 hotels in the area were being used as IPAS accommodation and that this has resulted in a situation where people wishing to stay in the area have “nowhere” to go.
“People can’t come to Tallaght, there’s nowhere to stay,” he said.
He said the number of asylum seekers/Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection from Ukraine was in the region of 3,000 – 4,000 currently, questioning the practicality of a tourism initiative planned for the area in circumstances where so much of the local accommodation is being used by IPAS.
He said that the loss of the City West Hotel as a public amenity has had a serious effect on the local community who had often used the hotel for functions such as Irish dancing, boxing tournaments, and as a convention centre.
He said that the emergency planning in place has dictated that if the Ukrainians currently housed in the complex were to leave, the hotel is already “earmarked” as accommodation for international protection applicants and would not return to its former use while the current state exists.
“I imagine any of the businesses there would have suffered from the drop in tourism,” he said.
He questioned how the government’s plan to “end homelessness” in the country through the HAP scheme was working citing a recent report which found that there were only 38 HAP properties in the country while there are people who keep calling on the state to accept “more refugees”.
“HAP is the way to get people out of homelessness, homeless centres are full and spilling over at the brim,” he said, adding that a lot of the homeless hubs in Dublin had “massive drug problems”.
He said that his primary school aged daughter had asked him to help her school friend, saying that he “doesn’t have a bed.”
When Holohan asked his daughter why the child did not have a bed he said she answered, “because he doesn’t have a house.”
Holohan said that out of control rental prices and scarcity had forced the child’s mother into a homeless hub on Gardiner Street where he said there were “drugs at the door”.
He said that the woman is employed in Tallaght hospital full-time and is currently travelling in and out to her work place while caring for her young son.
He said he had been trying to source local accommodation for the woman but that there is “nothing”.
“There are properties that are going for €20,000 per month if you put in ‘rent a house’ on daft.ie”
“There’s no €1,200 there’s no €2,500” he said, adding that HAP payments were only €1,900 and could not be used towards higher rents.
“They have so many people fighting for resources to pay their mortgages with the cost of living and all of this at the same time,” he said.
“It’s madness,” he said.
Loading ...
Christ he is right, it actually looks like a fema camp or one of those 15 minute city pod situations. Thats inhumane but then again the kakistocracy look at people below them like animals anyway which is why their bosses call us goy.
how come there no major protests about this,is there no Irish people left in that part of Dublin
We’re a funny people. Hundreds of thousands marched against paying for our water but few will march against the ongoing plantation and our replacement.
What dies that say about us?
I live in Tallaght,there was a protest there yesterday, word only getting Out to to local people now.
Answer to your question, we are being over run and losing the battle, parts of Tallaght now resembles parts of India, Nigeria, Ukraine,and Romania amongst many others.
Very true, I couldn’t believe the difference when I was up in the square last week. It was strange. It was 9:45 in the morning and there were foreign men sitting about on the benches and on the stair on the floors in the corridors. I was thinking what is going on. There must of been 40 or 50 of them spread about. The security in there seem to stay on top of things but these blokes were loitering
beginning to wonder has half Indian leo fg weirdo some deal with India or back handers as clonmel is flooded with Indians , can Irish people go their and get free houses dole free transport free education, I dought it , something has to snap this is gone beyond a joke,I hope to see major protests, would travel to Dublin 👍💚
Seems we do not have the organisers to organise protests in Dublin.
May 6th 14.30 Garden Of Rememberance…………….its now or never for Ireland
I’m not sure If this is a correct information, but I Read an article a few years’ ago that Indian and Chinese could claim British citizenship under grandfather rules and get British passports due to part’s of these countries being under British rule which makes it very easy for them just to waltz into Ireland,now that they’ve gotten a foot in the door there buying and investing there money here in property,making it even harder than it already is for young Irish people to own their own home.
I was trying to buy My own home it took me three years’ between 2019-2022 every property I went to view I had told get behind them and was constantly Out bid in some cases upto 30k straight from the off.
One auctioneer told me that these Chinese and Indian are regular customers and once they buy the property they then go and rent it to the local councils.
If anyone ever watches Under The Hammer on BBC you’ll get the idea what’s going on here in Ireland,our country is being bought Out from Under us.
Ah sure it’s a great little country, If your NOT Irish.
Could Gript do a piece on what areas these refugees/migrants/migrants are being housed.
I bet not too many are being housed in wealthy areas or near any members of the cabinet.
Wasn’t McEntee questioned on how many were housed in her constituency and her answer was her constituency was ‘too rural’.
Could they not have found a more obvious and central ‘hide-out’? The perfect place for criminal going-ons!
St. Jones House in Tallagh has 4 floors. It’s a huge building.
https://propertylistings.ft.com/homes/3699871/dublin-property-for-rent/st-johns-house-is-conveniently-located-in-the-west-suburbs-of-dublin-the-square-tallaght
Nothing short of a coffin ship
Very similar to military dormatories……………hmmmm