A packed meeting in Oughterard in Co Galway this week showed unanimous opposition to any proposal to turn the former Manor House Nursing Home into an IPAS asylum centre. When the 300 people in attendance were asked if anyone was in favour of the IPAS centre, not one hand was raised.
The meeting was called in response to the understanding that the former nursing home – currently used to accommodate Ukrainian refugees – is being considered by the Department of Integration as a possible site for a migrant centre under the auspices of IPAS.
Galway Bay FM reported that hundreds of locals in the community centre “unanimously voiced their opposition” to the proposed IPAS centre, with some stating that tourism could be damaged in the area if the IPAS centre went ahead, while others said that a nursing home was badly needed in the area.
“We have called this meeting tonight, to hear your views and to seek a mandate from the people to form a cohesive group that is empowered by our community, and hopefully halt plans for an IPAS Centre,” local Independent Ireland Councillor, Séamus Breathnach told the meeting.
“Oughterard Manor Nursing Home is currently used to house Ukrainian war refugees. We have found out that ownership has recently changed hands and that the Ukrainians currently living there have been given notice to leave. I have questioned the legality of this eviction with NASC, the Migrant and Refugee Centre in Cork,” he said.
“We have received confirmation from the Department of Integration that an application to have the Oughterard Manor Nursing Home turned into an IPAS Centre is currently under their consideration. They inform us that the application is at an early stage and that no decision has yet been made. Personally I believe that this application is at a very advance stage.”
Local group, Oughterard Says No To IPAS said: “Excellent meeting tonight. A massive turnout. A totally unanimous decision. We held a vote for or against the IPAS centre and not one person voted in favour of it.”
“Well done to Seamus and Noel and Thomas [local Councillors] for organising and attending and all the other politicians that came along. The main thing is we got a 100 per cent vote. So everyone agrees we are not having the IPAS centre,” the group said.
“We have set up a protest group and are continuing to enlist volunteers so and will be ready to launch the biggest protest ever seen as soon as we get notification that there is any risk that they are evicting the Ukranians and putting IPAS tenants into the nursing home.”
One speaker said that the country was facing into a possible economic downturn, with the possibility of jobs being lost – and urged those attending to stand together “to save what we do have left.”
Locals understand that the Ukrainian families who are currently in the former nursing home may be moved on, possibly to Longford. Calling the meeting in Oughterard earlier in the week, Cllr Breathnach said the use of the site for an IPAS centre would be a “disaster”.
“Both myself and Councillor Noel Thomas are currently trawling through documentation to try and find a way to stop this disaster from happening. We will leave no stone unturned, we promise you,” he said, asking locals to attend the Wednesday meeting “to let your views be known”.
Cllr Breathnach told the meeting that if Oughterard lost the nursing home now, it would never come back – and that the meeting would seek to establish a committee to bring the nursing home back to the area. Many speakers from the floor echoed those sentiments, saying that what the locals desired and wanted for the community was what mattered.
Speaking to Gript today, Cllr Breathnach said that the Ukrainians in the nursing home had received notice to leave – and that they now had to leave within 7 days.
“I was a councillor with Séan Kyne TD since 2004, and his integrity is second to none, but I would urge him to use every device at his disposal to ensure that we get a meeting with his Fine Gael colleague, Minister Colm Brophy, who has responsibility in this area,” he said.
“We’ve heard that Noel Grealish TD is in favor of putting a ban on the use of nursing homes as IPAS centres – I support that moratorium,” he said. “The nursing home in Oughterard was opened by a local businessmen and it functioned brilliantly for the local people. In my view it did not receive the support it needed from the HSE, and that, along with red tape and bureaucracy, failed us in the provision of an essential service.”
He said that local people called on “our 5 TDs to make the nursing home re-opening happen”. He added that there was “complete unity” amongst the local Conamara councillors in opposition to the IPAS centre.
In a statement a spokesperson on behalf of the department of integration said: “This property currently houses a small number of people fleeing the war in Ukraine and the need for State-supported Ukraine accommodation is reducing across the country.
“The property has been offered by a provider as accommodation for international protection applicants and this offer is currently being assessed.
“A range of issues are considered by IPAS when considering offers of accommodation made to us. These include eligibility for planning exemptions or compliance with other building and fire regulations managed by the Local Authority. They might also include details of services, transport and other logistical issues.
“If an offer is accepted, our community engagement team make contact with elected representatives, the local authority and other relevant groups in advance of the arrival of people seeking international protection in an area. These measures improve the flow of information regarding arrivals into an area. They also help the local community understand the current situation and to assist with the welcome and integration process for new arrivals. The Department also works closely with a number of other government Departments and Non-Governmental Organisations to provide a wide range of supports to help new arrivals to integrate into an area as quickly as possible.”
In 2019, some 3,000 people joined a silent march in Oughterard as local opposition to a direct provision centre being imposed on the small town grows. The direct provision centre did not go ahead at that time.