People protesting in Roscrea over the closure of a hotel to accommodate 160 asylum seekers have expressed doubts about a Government plan to establish a replacement community hotel in the town to cater for the needs of local people.
Those protesting outside Racket Hall, which this week became home to some 17 asylum seekers, have also said that the Government plan will do nothing to address the fact that health and other services in the town are at capacity and cannot cater for more residents.
Noel Wright, who has been protesting outside Racket Hall since news broke last Thursday that the owners were closing it down as a hotel and turning into an accommodation centre for asylum seekers, expressed doubts about the viability of a community hotel in the town.
“The Government are just trying to get out of jail now with this idea of a community hotel – we’ve heard nothing about how the government plan to run it but if that’s a government owned building – would you be a civil servant pulling pints, do you understand where I’m coming from?” he said.
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“We’re in the dark about it but it’s still not going to sort the problem. We have children at home that are afraid to walk down the street or go out at night with their friends because of intimidation, these people walking around in groups. There’s no one talking about that at all,” he said.
“We have five GPs in Roscrea at the moment, and they are all at capacity. We have three dentists and they all have waiting lists to get to see them and the schools in general are full as well. We still have 30-odd children in a classroom. We just haven’t room for any more,” he said.
Mr Wright’s comments were echoed by fellow protester, Justin Phelan, who said the idea of a community hotel involving the reopening of the former 24-bedroom Grants Hotel on Castle Street.
“It was mooted some months back on radio, but the politicians fobbed it off, saying that it wasn’t doable because of complications with the owner and this complication and that complication, so what has changed now that it’s suddenly being proposed as a great idea to salvage the situation?”
Mr Phelan said his understanding of the proposal was that Racket Hall would remain closed to the public and be used to accommodate asylum seekers and that the new community hotel would cater for locals, holding functions such as weddings and funerals and have no asylum seekers.
Cllr Michael Smith of Fianna Fáil, who has been to the fore in pushing for the restoration of the Grants Hotel as a community hotel, said he was confident the Government would also address the issue of a lack of services in Roscrea after getting a commitment on the Government buying Grants Hotel.
Mr Smith said he “raised a number of those concerns about how health services are stretched and how we need extra gardaí in the town and I’m also hopeful that the Government is going to give a firm commitment for a family resource centre in Roscrea, which I think is badly needed.”
He said he understood people’s shock at the sudden closure of Racket Hall, but he was concerned that scenes of protesters clashing with gardaí as they escorted families into the hotel on Monday was sending out the wrong image of Roscrea as a town.
“Roscrea is a kind, caring, welcoming place and we always offer the hand of friendship, and we want to rebuild that image after the scenes earlier in the week.”
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