Residents of the tiny village of Dundrum say they feel “vindicated and delighted” after Tipperary County Council conceded that an asylum centre in Dundrum House Hotel should not have been given a planning exemption to allow it to accommodate migrants.
Fiona Kennedy of the Dundrum Says No Group said that the “entirely peaceful 24/7 protest” against the IPAS centre, which had continued for more than a year, had been “a real David versus Goliath struggle” and that the concession from the County Council was a “very emotional day” for the locals.
“We’re just ordinary people who were forced into a position where we had to fight so hard, and we were name-called and vilified for speaking out to protect our community,” she told Gript. The group says it wants an inquiry into how the planning exemption was granted given that there were issues known to the Council that should have prevented this from happening.
Ms Kennedy was sharply critical of much of the national media coverage which she described as “scandalous” and a “disgrace”, saying that the media has “very serious questions to answer” in relation to how the community’s oppositon to the IPAS centre was covered.
Last August, locals said they were “devastated” after a “small army of Gardaí”, including the Public Order Unit, were used to “push through” three buses of migrants claiming asylum into the Tipperary village, despite widespread objections, and a local TD saying that residents would be outnumbered.
At the time, business owners in Dundrum said that they would withhold rates in protest at plans to make an asylum centre of the village’s only hotel site, while a petition opposing the use of the hotel as an IPAS centre had been signed by more than 1,700 people, and 300 people packed a meeting in the area to discuss the issue.
Despite the upset locally, the Department of Integration pushed ahead with plans for accommodate asylum applicants. Local councillor, Liam Browne, said that the use of large numbers of Gardaí “for people who have never caused any trouble in their lives”, and involving the public order unit to threaten ordinary, decent people and make it clear to the locals in Dundrum that they would be “beaten off the road” amounted to the “slow destruction of democracy”.
Today, Dundrum Says No thanked Cllr Browne “who spoke with us and for us on every occasion” and also Independent TD Mattie McGrath who they described as “a frequent visitor to the gates, who battled relentlessly for us in Dáil Eireann.”
Deputy McGrath today called on the Minister for Justice to immediately terminate the State’s contract for asylum accommodation with Utmasta Ltd, the company that owns the hotel in the village.
He said that Tipperary County Council had now confirmed that its decision to grant the Section 5 IPAS planning exemption was based on “inaccurate” information – and that the council’s planning department was not aware that a new waste water treatment system had been installed on the site without planning permission.
He said that “clear evidence of non-compliance with planning laws which has been confirmed by Tipperary County Council”, adding that a reply from the Minister on May 1, 2025 confirmed that IPAS contracts should only be entered into where providers are compliant with statutory requirements and minimum standards, including planning, fire safety, and building regulations.
Deputy McGrath said the Minister can no longer “hide behind bureaucracy” or ignore the legal reality. “This contract is built on a foundation of non-compliance. The State cannot proceed with a two-year, multi-million-euro contract when the planning status of the facility is legally unsound.”
“I have stood with the people of Dundrum since May 2024 and I am delighted that the people of Dundrum have been vindicated. This contract must now be immediately halted and this cannot be allowed to happen again in any rural village or heritage site. Planning laws must be upheld, and communities must be respected,” he said.
Ms Kennedy said that one of the reasons protesters felt “absolutely vindicated” was that they had repeatedly pointed out that they believed there were issues with the site, especially with water and waste, although they had felt for most of that time that their concerns were falling on deaf ears and that the Department of Integration consistently refused to listen or to answer questions regarding the use of the site and the contract for asylum accommodation.
She said that protesters had repeatedly pointed out that the area could not provide the services – including medical services – needed for a doubling of the population of the village.
“Since first commencing our protest at the gates of Dundrum House Hotel on 29th May 2024, we have been fighting to save our hotel and bring it back to full use for the Community. We have consistently raised serious concerns around issues relating to fire certification and compliance with building and planning regulations.
It has now finally been acknowledged by the Council that those issues raised were valid and, in their press release advising they will not be contesting the Judicial Review against the granting of a Section 5 Declaration for Dundrum House, they specifically reference issues around the waste water treatment plant,” the group said.
We also thank Dundrum Heritage Group for their work in putting together the application for a Judicial Review into the granting of the Section 5 Declaration – we are delighted with the outcome and that Tipperary County Council will be liable for costs so we’ll all get a few bob back!!
Huge thank you to the local community who called to support us, who brought firewood, bags of coal, trays of food – we all put on weight at the gates, who gave a toot of encouragement as they drove past!!! Your support and generosity meant so much to us.
Finally – we acknowledge and thank the amazing people who stand at the gates. Whether you came at the start for a brief period or whether you’ve been there for the past 385 days – you have represented your community bravely, peacefully and with grace and dignity. You were resolute in your determination to fight for what is right and, more importantly, against what is wrong. You were there morning, noon and night, through the worst storm in years, on Christmas Day, through snow, rain and sunshine – every day you were there. There have been rows and craic, but above all else there is a love for Dundrum House and our community that carried us all through.
Ms Kennedy was also sharply critical of most of the national media who she said “have very serious questions to answer” in relation to how the community’s oppositon to the IPAS centre was covered.
“They created a climate a fear, and made people afraid to speak up in case they were described as “racists”,” she said. “So many people in addition to those who kept up the protest 24/7 for more than a year agreed with us, but they felt afraid to say it. They were bullied into silence by the media.”
“The media were scandalous, they were a disgrace,” she said. “They are meant to probe these issues but instead they just wanted a totally false narrative to take hold about the supposed “rise of the far right” when communities were actually upset and had real concerns”.
Ms Kennedy also said that: We were asked why were we’re flying the Irish flag, when the answer is because we’re in Ireland, we’re Irish, we’re proud to be Irish. We’re so glad we never took them down, so glad we never bowed to the pressure to give up the protest.”
“The group who kept up the 24/7 protest are the most resilient, dignified people I have ever met. They should be very proud of what they achieved for their community.”
“We took a stand and refused to bow and we were subjected to horrible abuse online and in the media. I was called far-right and a racist and a fascist online, we all were, which is such a joke, we’re all just ordinary people who just had to stand up.”
She said that the community had “absolutely valid concerns” regarding who the state was sending to live in the small village in such numbers.
“There are cultural issue too, whether we like it or not: are people coming to the country who have very different views on women’s role in society, on issues like child brides, on the rights of women, perhaps on female genital mutilation?” she asked. “It was impossible to talk about these cultural differences without being called names and shouted down.”
She said a major concern was the arrival of migrants with no papers and no identification. “Why are they arriving with no papers? They had papers getting on the plane, they destroyed them so it must be the case in some instances that they clearly did not want the authorities to know who they are. The question I would have is, what are they hiding? Then those people are being brought to small communities like ours and we are attacked for speaking up.”
She said she believed due diligence wasn’t done in regard to the planning exemption, and that the County Council should be answerable for the situation that has arisen.
The Dundrum Says No group said that “while this is a fantastic day for Dundrum, there are serious questions still to be answered in terms of why planning irregularities were not uncovered during site inspections prior to granting the Section 5; if an Environmental Study exists; if all Fire Certifications are in place; who signed off on the recently announced 2-year IPAS contract
while there is a case currently in the High Court disputing beneficial ownership; and whether the site is to remain open.
Mattie McGrath reityerated this evening that he was “demanding the immediate cancellation of this contract”, and also “seeking clarification on what compliance checks were actually carried out by the Department prior to signing this agreement.”
“From the beginning, I have made it clear that the process surrounding Dundrum House was flawed, secretive, and showed a complete disregard for planning regulations and local democracy,” said Deputy McGrath.
“No one benefits from a chaotic and unlawful approach — not the community, not the asylum seekers, and not those responsible for integration. The State has failed everyone involved by attempting to shoehorn a high-capacity centre into an entirely unsuitable location without transparency or proper planning.”
However, the county council also said that new application could be made by Brogan Capital Ventures Limited in relation to a Section 5 exemption.
As result of the deficiency in the process, the Council said, “the Planning Authority has decided to concede the relief sought by the applicants to quash the Section 5 Declaration but solely on the ground that the screening carried out by the planning department was deficient.”
“We wish to advise that Brogan Capital Ventures Limited may seek a remittal of the Section 5 to the Planning Authority or may decide to continue to defend the Section 5 Declaration.”
“The alleged unauthorised development on the site is being addressed by the enforcement section of the Planning Authority under TUD-25-023.”
“I wish to advise that all parties to the judicial review have now been informed of the decision to concede the relief sought.”
