While the events centred on the Citywest IPAS centre have been the focus of attention following the alleged sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl, concerns about the residents of the asylum complex pre-date all of that.
People in Saggart have long made known their concerns about men taking drugs, drinking and loitering in the vicinity of schools. Gript has reported those concerns and published reports, based on Freedom of Information requests, detailing long lists of serious incidents within the centre.
Residents have told Gript that those complaints have been ‘ignored’ by Ministers and TDs.
In one of the FOI releases, Minister for State Emer Higgins asked for information days before the sale of Citywest was announced. She told Minister Jim O’Callaghan “At the moment there is no information available to either myself or members of the public, and I would ask that both public representatives and the wider community are kept fully up to date on any plans for the future of the site.” There is no documentary evidence that she was.
Among those who say they have been ignored is the owner of the Lemongrass restaurant which has been part of the Citywest complex since 2003. On September 25, Camilla Grey, owner of the Lemongrass restaurant, claims that she was assaulted by a member of the security staff of the IPAS centre. According to Ms. Grey an attempt was made to take her phone as she recorded an incident in which a person was being restrained by members of the security staff. She says “an unidentified male, who did not display a PSA [Private Security Agency] identification badge, instructed another security officer to ‘grab that phone’.”
Ms. Grey told Gript that she immediately reported the matter in person to the Gardaí, that Gardaí obtained CCTV coverage of the alleged assault, and that Gardaí subsequently told her that an individual “will be brought in for questioning, and the file is being prepared for the DPP.”
Clondalkin Garda Station this afternoon told Camilla Grey that, while no one has yet been charged, investigations, including examination of CCTV, has been conducted and that they will be “furthering it this week.”
Camilla Grey told Gript that, while she had enjoyed a good and productive relationship with the former owners of Citywest, problems began when Tetrarch took over.
She received a letter yesterday from Alva Glen Land Developments, which is the manager of Citywest Campus through Alva Glen Holdings and Cape Wrath.
The letter informed the directors of Lemongrass that “it has become necessary to temporarily close the access to the entirety of the Estate (the “Citywest Campus”) effective from 6:30 pm on 21 October 2025 until such time as the Gardaí give clearance for re-opening. For the avoidance of doubt, during this period, there shall be no access to the Citywest Campus, including but not limited to the Golf Hotel.”
During that period “The Citywest Campus will not be accessible to your employees, contractors, or visitors or patrons. Facilities management and security teams will be on standby to monitor the situation and ensure the premises remains secure.”
Camilla told Gript that the letter’s reference to concerns for the security of the Lemongrass was rather ironic given that one of the restaurant’s main concerns has been over the use of the campus as an asylum centre.
She also pointed out that: “While myself and my staff are unable to get to work as the restaurant remains closed, everything else is as normal. Residents of the centre continue to come and go and presumably the company will continue to receive payments for that part of the Citywest campus which they still own, which still provides IPAS accommodation and for which they are still being paid for since the sale of the rest.”
The letter notifying them of the closure is signed by James Byrne who is one of the directors of Alva Glen. Camilla Grey had contacted Byrne on October 16 regarding the alleged incident on September 25 but received no response.
In correspondence seen by Gript, Ms. Grey also wrote to businessman Michael McElligott, whose fortunes have taken a great turn for the better since the HSE COVID contract and his involvement with Citywest through Tetrarch and Cape Wrath culminating in the sale to the state for €148.2 million.
She told McElligott that she had sent him photographs of the persons she alleged were involved and “require that you provide their names and PSA badge numbers immediately, as this incident will also be reported to the Private Security Authority (PSA). I would also draw your attention to the individual, who shouted the order to “grab that phone.” I have since observed this same person on duty twice, still without visible identification. On one occasion, as I drove into work, he passed by my car and stared directly at me, clearly recognising me. I find it deeply unsettling that this individual continues to operate as a security agent on the campus”.
She requested that McElligott provide an identification of the person involved as well as “the full names and PSA licence numbers of the two security personnel involved. The Gardaí…who is leading the investigation and has reviewed the footage supplied by the hotel, has advised me that this information must be made available to me.”
Ms. Grey informed Gript that she has received no response from McElligott.
She also wrote to Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan outlining her concerns but received no reply to her email dated October 16. She pointed out to him that the State has a responsibility for the security at the site since it bought the IPAS centre, and that he ought to “be made aware of how these operations are being conducted.”
Grey concluded her email to the Minister by referring to “The tragic news this morning [a reference to the killing of a Ukrainian youth in Donaghmede on October 16] of a murder on the premises of the International Protection Centre, operated by Tusla, has further heightened our alarm. My staff and I are deeply disturbed by this development and increasingly fearful for our own safety,” and that it is “no longer viable for a business such as ours to continue operating alongside a refugee centre under the current conditions.”
She said she had received no response from O’Callaghan and that he joins a long list of other Ministers, TDs, councillors, and others, who locals say have ignored their concerns for as long as Citywest has operated as an IPAS centre.
When the Minister was asked on June 18 in the Dáil about how the sale of Citywest would impact Lemongrass and why he had not responded to requests from them, O’Callaghan stated that “there will be extensive engagement with the local community.”
Camilla Grey claims that no attempt was ever made by anyone on the State side, including the Community Engagement Team, to contact them, or to inform them at any stage as to what was taking place at Citywest, the plans for the State to buy it or how that might impact on them. The local people opposed to the plans attest to the same.
Tetrarch had not responded to Gript’s queries on this matter by time of publication, we will update this article should we receive a response.