Protestors fuelled up for Winter

Residents say they are staying put until their concerns are addressed

Almost two weeks on and residents in Castletara continue to protest against the planned arrival of 34 asylum seekers in their area and say they have yet to receive clarification on issues they raised with the Department of Integration.

Determined protestors say they have plenty of fuel and supplies for Winter and they even set up a projector and screen to watch the Ireland V South Africa rugby match last weekend.

Community representatives met with Department officials a week ago to discuss a number of concerns, including the suitability of the property and supports for those being accommodated there.

Until these concerns are addressed to their satisfaction, residents have vowed to keep up their 24-protest at the site.

“They were to get clarity on a number of issues that we have been raising since the outset,” one protestor told The Anglo-Celt outside the former equestrian centre at Fartan Lower on Monday evening.

“Our main questions centre on concerns about security, the fact that it’s a private lane, it’s not lit up, and the fact that there are no amenities. We also had concerns about transport into town, the fact that there are no wrap-around services for them and what was the rationale for granting planning permission.

“We’ve heard that the department is assessing suitability so we’re waiting to see what the next steps will be. We’re dealing through Breifne Integrated who are liaising with the Department for us,” said the man, who spoke on the basis on anonymity.

Despite the prolonged nature of the protest, morale is high among members of the group.

“It’s a brilliant mood out here”, he said. “The community is in good spirits. We put up a few pieces of scaffolding to act as shelter. It’s great to get people coming together for a common cause. Despite the weather being challenging, and the fact that we’re here nearly a week and a half without any further clarity on things, people are still willing to come forward to do a shift, which is great.

“We were able to set up a projector to watch the Ireland V South Africa Rugby game in the marquee that we had up. It’s great to have a good diversity of skills in the community to be able to do these different things. We’ve plenty of firewood, fuel, and other supplies to keep us going through the Winter.”

Recently protests in Ireland, such as the one that took place outside the Dáil, have adopted a sinister tone. However, this is something the Castletara demonstrators are trying to avoid.

“We’ve tried to stay clear of things like that”, he said.

“We had a meeting at the very start of this to decide what protest we’d take and it has always been community based. Outside factions have tried to come to try and influence what we’ve been trying to do but we’ve been run very well.

“Any TDs or councillors who have come out to us have commended how we’ve been handling things. We don’t want to associate ourselves with what happens anywhere else. We’re just dealing with what’s happening in the community and to get answers to the concerns that we’ve raised. We’ve been consistent about that since the start, we just haven’t got these answers yet. We don’t think it’s not suitable to put 34 men up there with few amenities, services or anything to do. It’s not a good foundation for them to get them integrated into the community,” articulated the man.

In a statement to the Celt, the department said that it is “currently reviewing the suitability of the property”.

However, it went on to state that placement of asylum seekers is subject to approval and ‘contracts for accommodation are not agreed until such time as IPAS officials have been provided with evidence that all applicable building and planning obligations have been met by the provider’.

The Celt sought clarification about whether the property in Castletara had been deemed as suitable but had not received a reply at the time of going to print.

The statement also said that, while a community engagement team had met with local communities in County Cavan to discuss their concerns, it is not always possible to consult with local communities about the placement of asylum seekers.

‘The emergency nature of the response required means that advance communications are not as comprehensive or as early as the Department would like. Due to the sheer scale of the present crisis, this inevitably means that emergency accommodation of those seeking refuge must be occupied on a faster timeline than would otherwise be the case,’ read the statement.