Residents of the north Clare village of Corofin are expected to protest to Department of Justice officials at a public meeting being held tonight to discuss Government plans to relocate an estimated 20 asylum-seekers to the village's tourist hostel. Last Thursday, a small number of local people received a letter from the Directorate for Asylum Seeker Support Services informing them of plans to place asylum-seekers in the village hostel.
The letter requested residents to attend tonight's meeting, which was described as "an effort to keep the local community informed of developments in this area and address any questions they may have".
Ms Myra English, chairwoman of the Corofin and District Development Association, who received a copy of the letter, said yesterday that the situation had been handled extremely badly by the Department of Justice.
"It would seem that the officials wanted to consult only with a small number of people and not involve the whole community," Ms English said. "That is very wrong. It is most important that the whole community attends tonight's meeting."
She pointed out that the village, which has a population of just over 900, was totally opposed to the relocation of asylum-seekers to the village's only hostel, which was the single biggest accommodation facility for tourists visiting Corofin.
"Corofin is widely regarded as the gateway to the Burren and depends on tourism for its income. The loss of the hostel for use by asylum-seekers would be a devastating blow," Ms English said.
"There are no facilities in the village, there is no permanent Garda presence, and parents are concerned that the asylum-seekers have not been subject to any medical exams on coming into the country. We don't know who these people are, or their backgrounds."
Speaking on behalf of local traders, Ms Trish Cleary described the atmosphere in Corofin at the moment as "very heated". She said that local people were "very annoyed" at the Government's proposal.
"We have just lost the interpretative centre at Mullaghmore and we do not want to become a ghost town," she said. "We would have no objection to the Government purchasing a couple of houses or flats, which would allow the people to integrate and not result in a loss of business to locals."
Mr John Burke, a spokesman for the residents, pointed out that the village could not provide adequate amenities for asylum-seekers. He said: "There is no transport, no chemist, no bank, one local doctor, who lives two miles from the village, one GAA pitch, and no other sports or recreational facilities."
