Wicklow residents who attended a public meeting with representatives of a management company which intends to house 950 Ukrainian refugees in Annamoe told Gript they now feel even more unsure about the decision than before.
The meeting, which took place near Glendalough last night, was attended by approximately 90 people including local councillors and business owners who said they were concerned how the village of Annamoe – which has a population of about 100 people – will be able to accommodate almost 1,000 newcomers.
Brian McDermott, representing Pastures New – the management company responsible for the temporary accommodation provided for refugees in Stradbally – said he believed the move would be a “great success” and encouraged locals to get involved in the process of welcoming the newcomers.
Insisting that the accommodation which he described as cabins erected under marquees on land belonging to Glendalough Estate would only be used to accommodate refugees exclusively from Ukraine and that this would last no longer than 32 weeks, McDermott dismissed concerns from locals that the contract could be extended or taken over to house asylum seekers after it expires in late May 2024.
He also insisted that those using the facility would only be there ‘for several weeks at a time’ and that the 950 bed facility may not be fully occupied despite saying that between 500 and 800 Ukrainian refugees are arriving in Ireland weekly.
McDermott refused to answer when locals repeatedly asked if the contract for the proposal had been signed saying that the plans ‘would be going ahead’ with the facility set to open on the 20th of November.
Locals raised the issue of the lack of resources in Annamoe saying that there was only one small antique shop in the village and that the local post office had been closed. Frustration has also been expressed that locals have experienced difficulty in securing planning permission in the area despite plans to house a large number of people being green lighted by Wicklow County Council.
In response to concern for what there is to do in the area for 950 people, McDermott said that two or three daily buses would be put on to ferry the Ukrainians to towns like Greystones and Bray.
In response to concerns on the impact on local services he said that the refugees would be provided with their own doctors “on site” and that they would be collecting their social welfare payments from other nearby towns.
Concern was raised that education would not be provided for the children on site and that there were not enough people available to provide services. One woman cited concern for the time it would take for people who wished to participate in service provision to obtain Garda vetting.
Local woman Monica expressed concern about the increase in traffic related to services for the site saying that it was located on a lane where two cars could barely pass. She said residents were already struggling with the conditions of a lane way near the site and that the plans would cause further “danger on the roads”.
Expressing concern that the demographic of the occupants could be modified in the future, Cllr. John Snell cited the case of the refugee accommodation in Wicklow town saying that ‘overnight’ families who had been accommodated and ‘integrated’ into the local community for four years had been ‘sent to the four corners of Ireland’ and replaced in a short time with 400 single males.
He said that certain people were making 100s of thousands of euros monthly from the situation, saying that while the locals “pick up the pieces, you [the contract holders] pick up the pay check”.
He also expressed frustration saying that integration workers – who did not attend the meeting – knew of the plans three weeks before the local people were informed, adding that given the size and lack of resources of the village “you couldn’t find a worse place for 950 people”.
Frustration grew as more questions were asked regarding the contract and whether or not it had been signed. One frustrated man asked Pastures New “Do you have the right to be there” citing an ongoing conflict with count Kaz Balinski who the meeting heard was in talks with a solicitor over his objection to the refugee centre being set up on lands held in trust for his family who live on the estate.
Cllr. Mary Kavanagh challenged the idea that the occupants of the centre would likely move on after a few weeks saying that Ireland was in the midst of a housing crisis asking what would happen if they didn’t find alternative accommodation and saying that in all likelihood they could remain for a ‘couple of years’.
Joan from Roundwood said that the contract would “obviously roll on” and that the accommodation centre would be there “for years”.
A man in attendance expressed his view that having spent so much money erecting the facility there was “no way” Pastures New would simply shut it down after 32 weeks while a woman who said she lives on the estate said it was “racist” that only Ukrainians were being accommodated.
McDermott dismissed as “unfair” a question from a lady who asked what part of Ukraine the refugees would be coming from with others adding that large parts of the country were ‘unaffected’ by the war which one man described as a “border conflict”.
Questions were raised on the environmental impact of the decision given the increase in occupancy of the rural area close to the Glendalough heritage site and the presence of two nesting buzzards in the immediate area as well as the impact on local wildlife. McDermott said that an environmental impact report was being conducted.
An elderly lady who said she lives in Annamoe said that due to a recent festival held on the Glendalough Estate phone services were down for over three hours. Questions were also asked about toilet facilities with Pastures New saying that water and sanitation services would be conducted “everyday”.
Fences around the facility are also to be erected to keep out local wildlife while according to Pastures New fences will also be erected along a river which lies to the rear of the facility.
A woman named Anna who said she and her family live beside the entrance to the facility on the Glendalough Estate said that lights from events held periodically on the land lit up her home ‘like daylight’ while another woman named Julie slammed those involved in the process saying there was “no consultation” and criticising Pastures New for their “pit pat” answers to local concerns.
When asked, Pastures New did not rule out the possibility that further developments of this nature will be set up in other parts of Country Wicklow. They refused to say how much the contract is worth to them or if they had profited from the contract related to the temporary accommodation in Stradbally.