Local Councillors in the Cashel Tipperary LEA were yesterday invited to attend a briefing at 8am this morning about the decision to place 80 asylum seekers in Dundrum House Hotel. The briefing took place at the Tipperary Council office on Rosanna Road, Tipperary town. The briefing was delivered in person by Eibhlin Byrne, the national lead for civic engagement on the community engagement team at the Department responsible for Integration. Oireachtas members were not invited but Tipperary TD Martin Browne attended as he was informed of the briefing by local Sinn Fein councillors. Deputy Browne says the Department policy of holding briefings for the councillors in a particular LEA and separate briefings for Oireachtas members is not the most efficient approach to effective communication and transparency.
Councillors Roger Kennedy, Mary Hanna Hourigan, Declan Burgess and Anne Marie Ryan attended the 8am briefing. Cllr John Crosse says he would have attended but he failed to see yesterday’s email notice in time. Cllr Tony Black sent apologies as he was at work. Ms Byrne says that there seems to have been a breakdown in communication in how the local community was informed of plans for Dundrum House Hotel. The councillors sought clarification on some points on which Ms Byrne will return answers. The Department representative clarified that the capacity at Dundrum is 277 whether it is Ukrainian Refugees or Asylum seekers or a mix of such people. Ms Byrne did not know where the proposed 80 women and children due to arrive at the centre next week are currently situated. Councillors asked that the Department verify that all fire safety and planning conditions are fully complied with before any IPAS applicants are sent to the centre which is in use for Ukrainian refugees since 2022.
Two representatives from the community in Dundrum were expected to attend for a community briefing at 9am today. It is understood that the persons did not attend and no community briefing was delivered. TMWR has sought a response from the group in Dundrum that has organised two meetings in the last week in response to the announcement that Dundrum House Hotel will be a hybrid accommodation facility for both refugees from Ukraine and asylum seekers.
