Communities don’t get ‘veto’ on who lives in area, Varadkar says amid anti-migrant protests – The Irish Times
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said communities do not get a “veto” over who can live in their area amid protests against accommodation of International Protection applicants at the former Magowna Hotel in Inch, Co Clare.
“Nobody gets to say who can or cannot live in their area. And we can’t have that kind of situation. But I think we shouldn’t dismiss concerns that people have about their locality.
“People do want to know what’s happening. They want certain assurances and we have a responsibility to do that. But that doesn’t mean that anyone can say that certain types of people can’t live in their area. We can’t tolerate that.”
The intervention came as Roderic O’Gorman, who as Minister for Integration has the lead role in housing refugees, was due to speak to local representatives over concerns about the suitability of the Co Clare site.
The Minister yesterday repeated a request for assistant from other departments in accommodating refugees as the Government struggles to cope with demand.
But Mr O’Gorman received all the help that he has asked for in dealing with the immigration crisis, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday amid reports of Coalition tensions.
He was speaking after it emerged that during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien “pushed back” against Mr O’Gorman when the Green Party TD made his appeal.
Speaking in Iceland, where he is attending the fourth Council of Europe summit, Mr Varadkar said that any time Mr O’Gorman has asked for help, it has been given, adding: “I don’t think anyone’s holding back.”
“Any support that has been asked for I think, at this stage, is available and has been given. A huge amount of money has been set aside for this. The real challenge has been finding accommodation. I don’t think it’s the case that anyone or any Government department is withholding help that they could give. I think Ministers are working very closely together on this. Any time Minister O’Gorman has approached Government for help, particularly when it comes to financial help, that’s been made available. I don’t think anyone’s holding back.”
“What I can say is that this is a whole of Government effort when it comes to the issue of Ukraine and migration,” Mr Varadkar said.
“Mr O’ Gorman is the head of the Department of Integration – that is the lead department when it comes to these matters. Education is involved as well, 14,000 children from Ukraine are being provided with education in schools.
“There are tens of thousands of medical cards issued by the Department of Health. The Department of Social Protection are very involved in giving people the welfare supports that they need. I think about 15,000 people are now working and every Government department is involved in their own way but there does have to be a lead department that is naturally the department of integration.”
Asked if the Coalition was cohesive, the Taoiseach said he believed it was.
[ Creaking refugee system prompting unwritten policy to discourage new arrivals ]
“Our actions are coordinated by the Department of An Taoiseach. That is the fundamental role of my department to coordinate the work of Government across different agencies and across different departments. So we have a cabinet sub-committee which I chair and we have a senior officials group, which is chaired by the assistant secretaries general in my department. That’s how we tend to coordinate things that we do. But of course, each department has its role to play and when it comes to matters of this nature, understandably, the Department of Integration is the lead department.”
Mr Varadkar said there have been over 100 protests in the last couple of weeks, and he said there are minority of people who “hold racist views” who “we have to stand up to.”
“Most of them are very small, but some larger and a small number have become violent. Government has a responsibility to provide information and to communicate with local people about what’s happening in their area, and we’re stepping up our efforts to do that all the time, and also to dispel a lot of the misinformation and false stories that are being put about.
“But we should acknowledge what is happening here. There are people who hold extreme views, who hold racist views, essentially, and we have to stand up to that. When it comes to most people, with information and with communication and with assurance, I think you can get them on board.
But there always will be a small minority of people who have extreme views or have racist views and they need to be stood up to.”
Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman was due to meet Oireachtas members on Wednesday on the ongoing blockade of a proposed accommodation centre for asylum seekers this morning, ahead of further talks at official level on housing migrants.
Concerned locals have set up blockades in Inch, Co Clare complaining that the site is not suitable for the single male asylum seekers who were sent there in recent days – some of whom are reported to have left the chalet-style accommodation overnight.
The Co Clare incident comes as the Government struggles to house asylum seekers across the country, amid the continuing housing crisis, and a protest at a makeshift refugee camp on Dublin’s Sandwith Street on Friday that culminated in the burning of tents and belongings there.
The Government is now scrambling to find shelter for 520 asylum seekers it has been unable to accommodate.