In an open letter to Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, and the government, residents of Saggart, Rathcoole and Citywest have said that families are “living in fear” and called for a “curfew system”, with exceptions for employment, for residents of the asylum complex in the area.
The letter sets out the resident’s concerns regarding “child safety, community protection and the State’s duty of care” after a recent alleged serious sexual assault involving a 10-year-old child beside the Citywest campus.
Directly addressing the minister, the residents said: “Minister O’Callaghan, if you or any other member of the Government thinks this model is safe, then it should be placed beside your communities, not ours.”
They said a “deportation order with no enforcement is not protection – it is a loophole. When the State does not carry out its own legal decisions, the public is left exposed while offenders remain free to move wherever they choose.”
They said that a “line has been crossed” and the local “community cannot live like this and call it protection”, adding that “tensions are understandably high because trust has collapsed, not just because of this horrific crime, but because of ongoing anti-social behaviour in the area.”
“Families now live beside a State-run facility with zero external monitoring. A community should not have to hope for safety – it should be able to expect it,” the residents, who have been campaigning against the use of the former hotel as a permanent asylum centre, said.
Denise Carney of the resident’s community group, Saggart Guardians, said that the local community had been devastated by the news of the alleged sexual assault against a 10-year-old girl, and that they had warned that there were serious safety issues with so many young men seeking asylum congregating in public areas.
Ms Carney, who said that her family was five generations in Saggart, wrote to the Children’s Ombudsman’s office in June saying that she was worried about children’s safety, but they responded to say that the matter wasn’t under their remit.
“This is not an isolated moment – it is the direct result of a facility operating with no oversight, no security accountability and no statutory safeguarding of the surrounding community,” the resident’s statement said, claiming that the state had carried out no substantial risk assessment for the centre.
Last night, as people gathered outside the Citywest entrance on Garter Lane, Saggart local protesters urged those attending not to incite violence. One woman, using a megaphone, told the crowd: “Just want to remind everybody we’re here for a peaceful protest tonight. Anyone who wants to incite violence can go home now”, the Irish Times reported.
Previously, at a meeting held to oppose the Citywest asylum complex, one woman said that she had been “followed fully to my door” and “chased by a group of men home and filmed”. She also said her statement was not taken when she went to the Garda station.
Now residents say that “the State never put in place protections that would normally exist around a facility of this scale and simply left a residential community exposed” and that the community was “pushed to its limit”.
“This community has been patient, cooperative and tolerant from the beginning,” the open letter said. “First during COVID, when the hotel was taken from community use then for the Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection and subsequently International Protection Applicants”.
The residents say they did everything possible in regard to peaceful, legitimate protest, including gathering 10,000 petitions in the local area, holding public meetings, contacting politicians, seeking information under Freedom of Information, and more.
One incident log for the asylum accommodation centre at Citywest listed over 170 incidents that took place in the centre in one six month period alone, and amongst the specific incidents recorded are multiple acts of aggression, assault, theft, vandalism, and drug possession.
The residents said that Citywest was “now under indefinite State control for International Protection Applicants with no pathway back to local use. At no point were the residents consulted, informed or given any mechanism to raise concerns – decisions were imposed on the community, not made with it.”
“Children are at the centre of this,” the open letter continued. “There are four primary schools, one secondary school and two ECCE childcare facilities within 500m -1km of the hotel. When there is no oversight or safeguarding in a location this close to children, it is not just a concern – it is a danger. This is a child-centred area – not an industrial zone or buffer site. Saggart is also one of the youngest and fastest-growing populations in the country.”
The residents added that “local medical, childcare and support services are already stretched to the limit” and said “needs to be addressed and acknowledged by the Government.”
“An independent Community impact assessment of the local areas must be carried out immediately so these concerns can be properly addressed. These findings must be shared with the community so that we can have an input into how and when these issues will be addressed. Again, adding risk without adding safeguarding and proper due diligence is not just unfair – it is unsafe to both physical and mental safety,” they said.
“We have repeatedly attempted to go through the proper channels. Since early this year, residents have formally requested information about security measures, risk assessments and any community impact assessments in advance of the State’s purchase of the site. All of these requests were ignored or stonewalled. We were patient. We followed procedure. We sought answers lawfully. We will not be ignored this time,” the residents said.
The letter said that “safety cannot be optional” and that “families are now living with a fear they should never have to carry”.
“Who will be next? A community cannot live like this and call it protection. Tensions are understandably high because trust has collapsed. Not just because of this horrific crime, but because of ongoing anti-social behaviour in the area. Families now live beside a State-run facility with zero external monitoring. A community should not have to hope for safety – it should be able to expect it,” the residents said.
They told the Minister for Justice that they were seeking “the immediate implementation of meaningful, permanent protection measures” around the asylum complex including: a 24-hour staffed security hut/guard post; proper lighting throughout access routes and walkways; full CCTV coverage of perimeter and approach area; a permanent Garda presence/ on-site Garda station; independent safety oversight; a transparent complaint and escalation process; and a guaranteed child-safety plan for all schools and ECCE facilities within 500m-1km of the site.
The group of local residents said that they also sought a curfew system for residents of the centre, with a permit process for those in employment or with verified late-night travel needs, to ensure safety and traceability outside curfew hours.
“There is nothing extreme about these demands, particularly in the light of recent events, and not excluding other issues that the community have constantly reported on. These are the minimum safeguarding standards that any other State facility of this size would already have,” they said.
Local Independent Ireland Councillor, Linda de Courcy, told Gript that she had sought to have a motion submitted to South Dublin County Council last year supporting a curfew for the Citywest centre after concerns were raised with her regarding anti-social behaviour, but her bid to table the motion was blocked.
The resident’s letter argued that: “A functioning protection system also requires enforcement. Where deportation orders are issued, they must be tracked and applied. The location of the suspect is not the issue – the failure to enforce the deportation order is. The fact that a person can be issued with a deportation order and still freely remain here is the real safeguarding failure,” the open letter from the residents said.
“A deportation order with no enforcement is not protection – it is a loophole. When the State does not carry out its own legal decisions, the public is left exposed while offenders remain free to move wherever they choose,” they added.
They said it was “not about immigration – this is a breakdown in the rule of law. Proper enforcement protects communities and protects legitimate applicants. If deportation orders are not enforced, the system is not credible, and the public is not safe.”
Residents said a “line has been crossed” and “the people of this area cannot continue living in fear for their children, their parents and their own daily safety. If the State cannot guarantee protection, residents will continue to escalate this issue publicly until safeguarding, accountability and oversight are restored. This is not a threat – it is self-protection for our families, which is a right, not an apology. We will not apologise for wanting our children safe,” they said.
They described the asylum centre as “not fit for purpose”, saying it “should not remain here”.
“It is not suitable for a small residential area surrounded by schools and young families. No single community should be expected to carry this entire burden. The fair and preferred solution is for Citywest to be closed as an IPAS hub and replaced with smaller, regulated and properly dispersed centres. The measures we are demanding now are only short-term protections – emergency safeguards until a plan is put in place to close this site and relocate it to a more suitable location. Safety first, relocation second – both are necessary,” the letter said.
They added that the recent “disturbing scenes at Citywest” were “not caused by the local community” – saying that “every protest held by residents up to now has been peaceful and respectful, and the overwhelming majority of people present tonight were peaceful as well. The trouble came from a small minority who were not there to represent local residents or their concerns.”
“This anger is not confined to Citywest – it is being felt in communities right across the country. People are frustrated because they have been ignored everywhere, not just here. When the public is repeatedly shut out of the process and dismissed, frustration builds. This is what happens when Government refuses to listen. Gardaí must carry out their duties, but some actions taken on the ground tonight added tension rather than calming it.”
“The is solution is not force”, the letter concluded, “it is listening, oversight and safeguarding. We are tired of hearing ‘lessons will be learned’ after the damage is done. If the community had been listened to from the beginning, these risks could have been identified early and avoided.”
“The State ignored the warning signs — and now the consequences have fallen on us. We are no longer willing to carry the cost of Government failure. We submit this letter
on behalf of all concerned residents, parents and families of Saggart, Rathcoole, Newcastle and Citywest.”
A 26-year-old male asylum seeker appeared in court on Tuesday charged over the alleged sexual assault on the 10-year old girl.
The Justice Minister said in response to the disturbances from a section of the protesters this week: “I hope we’re not going to see more of it, but if there are people out there who’ve made a decision that they want to go up there and create violence, they’ll be met with a very forceful response from An Garda Síochána and our criminal justice system.”
He told RTÉ News: “People are perfectly entitled to make a political point, they’re perfectly entitled to oppose Government policy. “They are not entitled to use violence and break the criminal law, and attack members of An Garda Síochána who are there to defend the Irish public.”
The Saggart group said they had made it clear that they had no truck with any violence and that they would continue to peacefully protest and wanted the Minister to listen.