Situated in northern Co. Westmeath, the village of Coole is the latest locality caught up in the longstanding issue of government attempts to establish asylum centres with little consultation with the public.
Nestled in the plateau overlooking the Bog of Allen, plans are underway to host 98 refugees at Coole Court, a 12 apartment development in the former Saint Joseph’s Orthopaedic Hospital located there.
Locals of Coole have established a group, “Coole Concerns”, in recent days. The group has organised protests and public meetings in response to this news.
Speaking to Gript, a spokesperson for Coole Concerns stated they are “awake and aware but fearful” and say they have received intimidating phone calls from an anonymous phone number after peaceful protests had taken place.
There is no indication that the phone calls came from anyone involved in the process of providing accommodation.
Locals spoke to Gript after a request for anonymity as they say they believe their jobs or families may be targeted because they oppose the State’s plans, adding that they feel intimidated since receiving these calls.
“I’m afraid for my family,” one local protester told Gript, adding that other people felt fearful for their jobs or that they would be targeted.
Another person said that they were “shocked and sickened” that a “small rural village” were in a position where they “had to fight for themselves” and that they were “infuriated by the contempt the Irish government have for the people of Ireland and the neglect they have shown towards us”.
NO CONSULTATION
The Westmeath Examiner reports that Coole’s local pub, Burke’s Bar, was packed recently for a meeting, with locals telling the paper: “we can’t build a house, but we can build an asylum centre.”
Coole is home to approximately 500 residents and is just over 3.6 square kilometres in size.
The asylum centre would see the village experiencing a population increase of almost 20% in the very near future.
Their group has opined that a centre for a proportionately large number of international protection applicants is not suitable.
Coole Concerns has held a continuous protest at Coole Court, a prospective refugee centre, day and night, since Saturday 21 October
A spokesperson for their group was interviewed by the Westmeath Examiner last week after a meeting reportedly attended by more than 100 people, stating “there was no consultation with the community.”
A view of some of the apartments at Coole Court
“We are not anti-immigrant. There’s nothing for them here, there’s nothing here for us. We have a population of around 500 and we are going to have an extra hundred people all of a sudden,” they said.
“No one in the community can get a doctor’s appointment, you have to wait two or three weeks.
Development of the asylum centre
The initial, formal communication on the plans for the refugee centre came from Fianna Fáil TD Robert Troy via text messages to members of the community in the past few days.
According to the Westmeath Examiner, locals shared that “Robert Troy sent out a message at around 5.15pm [on Friday, 13 October] telling us that a 12 month contract had been signed, while the documentation [from the department] that we got from Sinn Féin and FG said that it was a two year contract.”
According to a briefing note published on this proposal by the Department of Children, Cloudview Properties Limited owns the property at Coole Court – and has previous experience in the provision of accommodation of centres for international protection applicants, according to the report leaked from the Department of Children earlier this week.
Local sources state Peter O’Connor, CEO at Global Security Devices, presented himself as the most senior person at Cloudview Properties Limited.
He attended last week’s meeting at Burke’s Bar in his capacity as the developer of the asylum centre where he answered questions from the public.
Information released in error by the Department of Children and published on Gript, shows that the owner of the proposed centre in Coole has received just under €4.5 million this year from the state for centres elsewhere.
According to the note sent by Robert Troy TD, the migrants set to be accommodated in the village are not Ukrainians, since the building in Coole is designated to house those seeking international protection (asylum) – while Ukrainians have been granted temporary protection because of the war in their country.
Public anger and action
“We would like to know what nationality the people are. We are concerned about what their mental health will be like. These people will have no jobs, no money and there’s not a lot to do around Coole”, a Coole Concerns spokesperson told the Westmeath Examiner.
Amenities in Coole village include a pub, a post office, a shop, a church, a medical centre, a primary school, and a community hall.
The spokesperson also said that some parents “are concerned about child safeguarding”.
“I have two children, I know I won’t be able to let them walk down Coole to play with their friends. So many said that same thing last night. We don’t know who they are and they are not garda vetted.”
Government briefing and funding
A briefing note dated 13 October from the Department of Children was circulated by the Department to TDs and local politicians based in Westmeath.
The premises of the old hospital are now referred to a Coole Court in the Department of Children’s briefing. It confirmed a contract with the centre is now signed for a period of one year and that the purpose of the centre is to accommodate “people seeking refuge in Ireland who are International Protection Applicants”.
The documentation also confirmed recent figures for those seeking international protection in Ireland as of 11 October: 24,358 people are international protection applications currently being accommodated by the State.
Additionally, those feeling war in Ukraine, known as Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection, are now at 73,152.
The Department of Children’s briefing note adds that the accommodation will be for families, will contain laundry facilities, high speed fibre Wi-Fi and self-catering facilities. The report also confirms “there will be staff on–site 24 hours a day and there will be a manager and/or security staff on site at all”.
Locals believe a small number of residents have already been moved to the premises. The story continues to develop.
