Campaigners in Dromahair, Co Leitrim, have said that community engagement with locals is not genuine, and is a “smokescreen” to “distract” concerns after a proposed asylum centre in the village got the green light. They added that an Taoiseach had said just last week that the government should not “just rock up” and use the only hotel in a village for asylum.
The former Abbey Manor Hotel has now been cleared to house 155 asylum applicants by the High Court. Dromahair has a population of 939 people according to the last census.
Dromahair Concerned Citizen Group, who oppose the centre, said in a statement: “We the residents of Dromahair have asked our local representative Frank Feighan TD, to extend an invitation to Simon Harris to Dromahair this weekend. We are asking that the Taoiseach explain to us why he is allowing the departments of Integration Justice to completely disregard the judicial process.”
“It is our understanding that Leitrim County Council, have as with any court case the right to lodge an appeal. We also believe that there are outstanding issues with the basement and other internal works to the building.”
They said that they had been told by the community engagement team on the 14th of January that the matter was now the subject of legal actions, and that DCEDIY “cannot review the situation until all matters are resolved”.
“To any communities in our position who are waiting for community engagement, please be assured that this is a smokescreen, designed to distract the local community. It is not engagement and anything said at those meetings cannot be relied upon,” the committee said.
“This government has completely lost control of the immigration crisis and we in Dromahair are to be the next casualty of it. There has been a complete disregard for the people of Dromahair throughout the whole process.”
“Simon Harris announced only last week that this government would not continue to place asylum seekers and refugees into unsuitable locations, or the last hotel in the town or village, which is the case in this village and in North Leitrim,” they said.
“If he is to ignore this statement in relation to Dromahair he needs to be held accountable,” the statement said.
In February, Leitrim County Council issued High Court enforcement proceedings to prevent the being used to house 150 asylum claimants because, it said, planning permission was granted for commercial tourism use, not asylum accommodation.
However, on Monday, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys found the proposed use of the hotel was not unlawful and “can go ahead” because the owner, Dromaprop Limited, was entitled to avail of a planning exemption to change the use to accommodate “protected persons” under 12-month contract with the Department of Integration.
Dromaprop’s barrister, Niall Handy, told the court the council’s decision to invalidate the company’s compliance certification and to issue enforcement proceedings was preventing the building from operating as the owners wished.
Now Judge Humphreys has found the development can go ahead – and he also refused the council’s request for an order prohibiting the temporary housing of asylum seekers at the premises.
Dromaprop Limited has an address in Lucan, Co Dublin.
More than 200 locals protested outside the Abbey Manor Hotel last November. One woman, Mary Kelly, told the Leitrim Observer that: “We have a lovely village and community here that is very safe and people here have put a lot of effort into developing a park and getting loads of facilities for the young children around here and it won’t be safe to let children walk around. I myself, as an adult, will not walk alone anymore either.”
200-strong crowd protest outside Abbey Manor Hotel in Dromahair https://t.co/G37Bol0iHN
— Leitrim Observer / Leitrim Live (@LeitrimLive) November 23, 2023
At the time, a newly formed group ‘Leitrim For All’ ‘ called for the inclusion and support of asylum seekers and refugees.