CONTROVERSIAL The Achill Head Hotel, where a Direct Provision centre was due to open today, without locals having been informed. (Pic: Google Maps)





Edwin McGreal

Achill



Reported plans to open a Direct Provision centre on Achill Island this morning (Thursday) have been halted in the wake of a public meeting on the island last night.

The meeting heard local objections to reported plans by the Department of Justice to house 40 migrants at the Achill Head Hotel in the village of Pollagh from today.

At the outset of the meeting, local resident Monica Brogan said the meeting had been called by a group of locals concerned about the ‘inhumane’ Direct Provision system, emphasising that ‘the people who are seeking the accommodation are not the targets here’.

Local councillor Paul McNamara said he had been informed that the hotel has a three-month contract as emergency accommodation for a temporary Direct Provision centre.

Word of plans to open the Direct Provision centre today had only filtered through to the community yesterday, with many locals expressing their anger at the lack of local consultation.

‘Best-kept secret’

Cllr McNamara told The Mayo News this morning (Tuesday) that following phone calls by him after the meeting, he was told nobody will be arriving at the Achill Head Hotel today and that ‘no final decision’ will be made until the Department of Justice liaise with the local community.

At the meeting Cllr McNamara was critical of the lack of notification to the Achill community, saying he only became aware of the plans yesterday morning and got confirmation of the above details from the office of David Stanton, the Minister for State for Equality, Immigration and Integration, yesterday afternoon. He described the news as ‘the best-kept secret’.

Close to 200 people attended the two-hour-long meeting in Cashel last night. At times heated, the meeting heard differing views on the issue.

Speaking at the end of the meeting, Cllr McNamara summed up what he felt was the mood of the meeting. Each of comments were met with sustained applause.

“The Achill Head is not fit for purpose as a Direct Provision centre, that is what is coming out of the meeting?” he asked.

“Achill has always welcomed people to Achill, always and ever it has welcomed people to Achill and under the proper circumstances and the proper integration with the community. If there are houses available that people can come to and if families can come into a community – we all know the villages in Achill and how many empty houses are there – if there is a proper procedure adhered to that would integrate people into the community, that is what the community is in favour of,” he said.

“Someone [needs to] come down from the Department and talk to the community. No one is against anyone coming to Achill. What they are against is the manner and the fashion that they are being bussed to Achill. That’s what the community is against. That nobody is being made aware of anything,” he said.

Impassioned plea

Cllr McNamara said few can appreciate the plight of migration more than the people of Achill.

“We are a very small community with a population of about 2,500, and nobody knows better than us about emigration and how our fathers and forefathers had to go to England in order to send home the wage packets to keep us all going here. We’re a very welcoming community,” he said.

Cllr McNamara made an impassioned plea to those at the meeting and to the wider Achill community not to fall out over this.

“I’m pleading with you – our community is small enough. Please do not divide it over an issue that is nothing to do with any of us in this room. It has been forced upon us under wrong regulations. I’m pleading with you to not let that happen,” he said.

‘Let’s get to know them’

Saoirse McHugh of the Green Party, who is from Dooagh, the next village to Pollagh, said that Direct Provision is a problem, not the people in it seeking asylum.

“Direct Provision sucks and nobody in it likes it. Amnesty International have condemned it. The Department of Justice handles it really poorly. I think the way to handle [this situation] is [to say] ‘They’re here, Direct Provision sucks, they don’t like it, we don’t like it, nobody likes it, let’s get to know them’,” she said.

Achill resident Shane Gutherie said he will be holding a silent vigil at the hotel against Direct Provision, with others saying they will join him. He questioned whether there is provisions and supports in place to help migrants who might be coming from war-torn countries.

Paddy Mullaney, who lives in Pollagh, said Direct Provision is ‘inhumane’ and argued that the best way to let the Government know this is to not allow migrants to arrive in Achill.

The Department of Justice was described by Michael O’Donnell as ‘devious and sneaky’ in how this issue was handled.

‘Nothing to do’

The meeting heard many people say the village of Pollagh is not a suitable location. With a population of under 100 people and the only amenities there being the hotel and a church, some speakers said the migrants would have ‘nothing to do’.

One speaker pointed out that the nearest post office is now 15 miles away following the closure of the post office in Keel, while others pointed to the lack of footpaths, poor street lighting and narrow roads in the village.

Saoirse McHugh asked people who wanted to be part of a welcoming committee to leave their names on a list at the top of the room.