Mattie McGrath challenges IPAS placements at Hans Hotel, Clarnmel
Deputy Mattie McGrath spoke on 25 June 2024 about the placement of 87 IPAS individuals at Hans Hotel in Clarnmel and criticised the lack of local engagement and notice. He said residents are protesting changes at the Drum House Hotel, which has been changed from a Ukrainian centre to accommodate IPAS guests, and warned the issue affects multiple Tipperary communities.
Immediate concern in Clarnmel
McGrath said he had been asking since 28 January about the situation at Hans Hotel and that a notice arrived the previous evening at 4pm that 87 IPAS persons or families would be placed in the centre of the town. He described the hotel as a landmark building where the "Bayon Coney journey" started and said rumours had circulated for some time with little official information provided to elected representatives.
Local protests and information complaints
He reported hundreds of people protesting outside the Drum House Hotel after it was changed from a Ukrainian centre to an IPAS facility. McGrath said there has been no meaningful engagement with local people or those elected locally and called the lack of information and treatment of the electorate "shocking."
Wider impact across Tipperary
McGrath said similar placements and lack of communication are occurring across Tipperary, naming locations from Clarnmel up to Dundrum, Torlis, Borrosy Cain, Rat Cabin and Colusty. He warned that local models and communities are being affected and that people in small hamlets are finding it difficult to get information.
Department community engagement team
On information flow, McGrath acknowledged there is a community engagement team in the Department of Children and Integration and said the head of that team is contactable by Oireachtas members. He said the team should respond to queries and offered to engage with another member, John, to improve communication.
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Teachta, I have been asking since the 28th of January about the situation regarding Hans Hotel in Clarnmel with the Department of Integration team. Finally, we had a notice yesterday evening at 4pm that 87 IPAS persons or individuals or families were going in there, into the centre of our town. We have hundreds of people protesting outside the Drum House Hotel because that has been changed from a Ukrainian centre to IPAS also. Where is this going to stop? I mean, there's absolutely no engagement of anybody in Clarnmel elected or unelected or anybody else about this. And here we are happening in the coming week, I was told last night. And it's just not good enough that the people are dealt with it in this way and left. This is one of our landmark buildings in Clarnmel, the famous Bayon Coney journey started there. And these rumours were there all the time and people were engaging and asking. And we couldn't get information as elected representative. It's shocking the way that the electorate are treated here and the public. And we have it all across Tipperary, right from Clarnmel now right up to Dundrum, to Torlis, up to Borrosy Cain, which is a model, and being turned upside down and also in Rat Cabin and elsewhere. And everyone talks about Colusty, a small hamlet, not even a village, in Tipperary also. We can't get information. Look, on the issue of information, there are liaison people, community liaison team, community engagement team. Well, no, it's factually incorrect to say there's none. There is a community engagement team in the Department of Children and Integration. The head of it is, you know the name of the head of it, and they're contactable to you as an Oireachtas member. I'm sure you have the email address as I have theirs as well. And they should be in a position to come back to you. And I can, there should always be a good flow of information. I'm happy to engage you, John.
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