Protesters at the Moyvalley Hotel in Co Kildare have told Gript that families have been – and are being – evicted from apartments at the complex, which is now being taken over by a new multi-millionaire owner who plans to use it to accommodate asylum applicants.
A local organiser of the protest last Saturday, Larry Malone, said that the families had been served with eviction notices in October and November of 2024 – and that all except for a handful had already left the 32 apartments under fear of being evicted, and had been left desperately looking for housing “in a market where no houses are available”.
“Just three families are left in the apartments – which are just twenty metres from the front door – and they are worried that they will be now be left homeless,” he said.
Last week, Kfm reported that “the expected new owner of the Moyvalley Hotel and Golf Resort, Mr. Kawaljit ‘Karl’ Sandhu, a multi-millionaire and CEO of Citicorp Apartments Ltd” had “confirmed to Kfm that it is his intention to accommodate International Protection Applicants in the block of apartments on the premises”.
Mr Sandhu told Kfm that discussions are ongoing between his company and the Department of Integration to accommodate 24 families in 24 of the apartments, but no agreement has been reached as of yet.
Speaking to Kfm, one local said that they “feel sorry for the tenants who have been living in the apartments up until now, and have been told they need to find somewhere else to live”.
Mr Malone, who attended the protest on Saturday which he said was supported by over a 100 people throughout the day, said that a young couple still living in one of the apartments also took part in the demonstration – adding that “every race and creed” had been living in the hotel apartments and that they had been “all uprooted” with “no regard for families and family life.”
“We have nothing else in this area, the petrol station is gone, the post office is gone, this hotel is only amenity left in the area, and putting an asylum centre into the middle of it will radically change that,” he said.
He said that the net effect of what had happened was that families were made homeless and those apartments were now proposed to house asylum applicants, adding he feared that the last amenities for the local area – and the jobs of those working in same – would be lost.
The young couple still living in the in the hotel apartments told the Irish Times that at the end of November they were served with a six-month eviction notice by email.
“We would like to be allowed to stay; we have looked locally, but there is nothing available that is affordable, we just want a place to live nearby for work,” the young man, a teacher in the local area, said.
Another man who spoke to Kfm said that he had been living in the apartments for over five years and described the eviction as as “stressful and unfair”.
He now lives in another part of the county. He told Kfm that he received an eviction notice last October and moved out before Christmas.
He initially believed the premises was being redeveloped but now questions the reasoning behind the evictions.
Families still residing in the apartments are “distraught” over the uncertainty of their future, he said.
“It’s stressful. It went from long-term rent to short-term rent, so we knew something official was up when they changed the contracts. The question is: do you wait six months or find something earlier?”
Since leaving, he said his wife’s commute to work has doubled, adding to the difficulty of the move. He also noted that families with children in local schools are struggling after receiving eviction notices
“I wish they were just upfront about everything. If they want accommodation for asylum seekers, why not use the hotel? Why kick families out?” he asked.
He said that the situation had created tensions and damaged community relations – adding that a change in rental agreements had occurred leading up to the evictions.
“Last year, they didn’t renew the yearly contracts. They just shortened the contract to three months. We’d still be there if that hadn’t happened. We even thought of buying a place there,” he said.
The hotel is located in the rural parish of Balyna near Enfeld, and the area was the seat of the O’More-Farrells who protected local clergy during the penal days, making Balyna, the Catholic parish with the most complete parish records in Ireland, going back to pre-reformation days, another local, Manus Mac Meanmain, said.
Locals supporting the Moyvalley Concerned Locals group intend to hold another protest next week at the hotel.
In a statement, the Moyvalley Hotel Resort said that “the Resort is currently undergoing a sale process and due diligence is currently taking place”.
“In regard to the day-to-day operation of the business, all operations will continue as previously. We hope to have a smooth transfer over the coming period ensuring minimum disruption to the
business. Being a service provider in the hospitality industry, we assure you that we will always act in the best interests of our customers.”
The Department of Justice said that “the Programme for Government commits to the establishment of a new Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. This includes the return of responsibility for international protection accommodation and integration. At present, these responsibilities remain with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The two Departments have established project teams to lead implementation of the transfer of these functions over the coming months. In the meantime, your query would be more appropriate to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.”
