IPA plan 'totally unsuitable' for Rathcabbin

Local community mobilises against proposal for former nursing home

A capacity attendance at the community hall in Rathcabbin last week heard of steadfast resistance to a proposal to accommodate international protection applicants (IPAs) at the former St Kieran's Nursing Home.

Those present were reminded of how the community united 20 years ago in opposition to the Shannon Vermicomposting dump. It was agreed that a similar campaign would be needed to oppose the proposed accommodation of 30 to 35 IPAs at the nursing home, which closed in 2022.

Chairing the meeting, William Rigney outlined how the local community came to learn about the intention for St Kieran's. He said it was originally understood that the centre would be used to house Ukrainian refugees with special needs. This use would have been acceptable to the community, but it was then discovered that the centre would be intended for refugees of “unknown origin or background”. It was unclear as to whether they would consist of women, children or men.

Mr Rigney described Rathcabbin as a welcoming, peaceful community with “no room for racism, violence or bigotry”. But he said the proposal for St Kieran's is “totally unsuitable” for such a remote rural area, one that is already “under-serviced” without even a shop.

Among other factors, he mentioned the nursing home’s “dangerous location” at The Pike junction, and lack of footpath and lighting.

The chairman said these concerns have been made known to Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman. It was understood that the party leasing the former nursing home has applied to Minister O’Gorman’s department to run it as an IPA accommodation facility. Plans included a minibus service for residents of the facility and a small playground for children. The centre would be managed and staffed on a 24/7 basis and all staff would be trained in social care. The owner and lessee of the former nursing home were both invited to attend the meeting but neither were present.

COMMUNITY ‘IN THE DARK’

Several speakers agreed with the view of one man that the local community is largely “in the dark” about what is happening. There is an absence of “hard facts” with regard to the St Kieran’s proposal.

Among those present was Deputy Jackie Cahill, who said the strong attendance at the meeting underlined the depth of concern about the situation. He had personally raised the issue with Minister O’Gorman. While not trying to “give false hope”, Deputy Cahill clarified that the application is “still at an early stage”; there would be several more stages to clear before anything happens with the former nursing home.

Deputy Cahill agreed that the current proposal is unsuitable. “Anywhere in rural Ireland, I don’t think you’ll find an area as rural as Rathcabbin,” he commented.

There had been a lot of commentary over the accommodation of migrants in Roscrea and, before that, Borrisokane. Deputy Cahill made the point that these towns are at least well-serviced; Rathcabbin simply does not have the services. As a government TD, Deputy Cahill said the government is in “dire need” of accommodation for the numbers of migrants coming into the country. But he said there has to be consistency in the process, and while accommodating 30 people in Rathcabbin would not make much difference in the overall scheme, it would make a big difference to the local community.

‘SUSPICION LEADS TO FEAR’

Deputy Michael Lowry told the meeting about the lengths he and local councillor Michael O’Meara went to in trying to find out about the intention for St Kieran’s. He agreed that it is “very difficult to get hard facts” because the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) “don’t communicate with public representatives either; that’s part of the issue we have.”

Deputy Lowry had raised the matter in the Dáil and told Minister O’Gorman that the lack of information had led to growing numbers of protests at IPA centres around the country. “Suspicion leads to fear,” he observed.

Agreeing that the Rathcabbin proposal is “unacceptable” from the point of view of location and services, Deputy Lowry advised that health & safety and fire officer reports would have to be submitted before St Kieran’s could be used to accommodate anyone.

It could be as a long as four months before a decision is made, and Deputy Lowry said there is still a possibility that the proposal will not go ahead.

Cllr Séamie Morris told those gathered that the government is desperately trying to “get the tents out of Dublin and throw them wherever they can... There’s no plan; the plan is just get the tents out of Dublin”.

He mentioned the service of eviction notices on asylum-seekers in Borrisokane, people who had successfully integrated with the help of the local community, but whose accommodation is now wanted by IPAS.

“See what we get for doing the right thing?” Cllr Morris asked.

‘PEOPLE ARE BEING MONETISED’

Cllr Morris advised the people of Rathcabbin to be vigilant. His view was that “IPAS are running the country now” because property owners realise the amount of money they can make from accommodating IPAs. “People are being monetised now,” Cllr Morris exclaimed. “People are making money out of this.”

Also among the attendance was local election candidate Ryan O’Meara, whose grandmother had resided in St Kieran’s. He agreed that the centre is located on a dangerous crossroads.

While there is a need to help people in need, there is also a need to protect local communities, Mr O’Meara opined.

Cllr Michael O’Meara called for a special task force - similar to that set up during the Covid pandemic - to deal with the immigration issue. He had “no confidence in the IPAS system” and said he was “abhorred” to learn that people with no vetting or background checks could be housed in St Kieran’s.

“This is not racist,” Cllr O’Meara said of the Rathcabbin community’s opposition. “It just won’t work here.”

Cllr Joe Hannigan was of a similar view. Having been involved in the successful integration of asylum-seekers in Borrisokane, he was dismayed to see the authorities “reneging on the deal now”.

“I’ve lost faith in how the whole system works,” he said. Noting the configuration of rooms at St Kieran’s, Cllr Hannigan said it looked more likely that single people - as opposed to families - would be accommodated there, but locals would not be told.

A number of speakers expressed anger over the nursing home - which once accommodated members of the local community - being closed over lack of funding, while it had also proven so difficult to find funding for many other services for the community. Yet funding could be readily found to accommodate people arriving from other countries.

'PEOPLE POWER'

One man was loudly applauded for suggesting that the only racisim at play is “racism against the Irish people in their own community”. He said people’s first obligation should be their own family and community, and the first obligation of all public representatives should be to those who elected them.

Cllr O’Meara said “people power” triumphed over the Rathcabbin dump; he believed a similar effort would ward off the proposal for the nursing home.

Cllr Ger Darcy encouraged those present to form a committee to deal with IPAS and the other stakeholders in the matter. Councillors were to meet with the executive of Tipperary Co Council to discuss the situation further, while the Oireachtas members would convey the sentiment of the meeting to Minister O’Gorman.

The owner and lessee of St Kieran’s were contacted by this newspaper and declined to comment publicly on the matter. IPAS was also asked for comment but did not respond.