March over Rathcabbin home

A march will take place in Rathcabbin this Sunday over unconfirmed plans to accommodate dozens of international protection applicants at the former St Kieran's Nursing Home.

The event is organised by the Rathcabbin Concerned Residents committee, which formed earlier this year after members of the local community learned of proposals to use the nursing home - which closed in 2022 - as an International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre. The committee held a public meeting last May. Attended by around 200 people, it was a united front of opposition to the proposals, with all agreeing that Rathcabbin is not a suitable location for such a centre.

But Chairperson William Rigney said little has happened since that meeting. The committee has been meeting weekly, lobbying local representatives, making observations and trying to get information from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth - to no avail.

“We've heard nothing since,” Mr Rigney said. “There was to be inspections and this, that and the other. We as a committee are getting nothing only one-line answers in response to the calls we've sent in to acknowledge our concerns. We're hearing things third party or on the grapevine, but there's no hard facts.”

Describing this Sunday's event as a “peaceful walk”, the chairman said the intention is to keep people informed and engaged about the issue. It will begin with an address at the community hall in Rathcabbin where the committee will update people of “the little we know” about the situation since the last public meeting.

“It's laying down a marker to everyone involved - from those involved in politics to the people who are benefiting from this - that this is not a tenable scenario for Rathcabbin and its environs,” Mr Rigney said ahead of the march. “It's not based on racism or unwelcome - this is a very welcoming community - it's based on the concerns of one and all here that this is a very under-resourced area, under-serviced area...

“People are very sympathetic to the whole IPAS immigration process and people coming in, but likewise, there is a duty of care and responsibility towards our own people and to those people coming in - it is not fair to literally plant these people in an under-resourced area.”

‘ANXIETY AND FEAR’

Mr Rigney pointed out that planning permission was granted in the same year of the nursing home's closure for an extension so that it could cater for up to 52 residents. It has, therefore, the potential to accommodate that many IPAs. He said there is a similar number of people living in the immediate vicinity of St Kieran's, around 40 of whom have a dependency of some form. The uncertain future of the former nursing home has created “anxiety and fear” among them.

“These people are coming in literally undocumented,” Mr Rigney said of the IPAs that local people have been led to believe will be housed in St Kieran's. “They're not being garda-vetted to even the same stringent rules as you would for someone to run a football team.”

Questioning how anyone without a passport could be allowed into the country, Mr Rigney said Ireland's immigration policy is “too amenable” and has led to great concern in rural communities like his own. The chairman added that members of the Rathcabbin committee have spoken to people in other areas with similar concerns about relatively large numbers of IPAs being moved into small rural communities.

“We've seen it happen in other places where things happen overnight, almost, despite the actions of politicians and action groups,” he said, calling for vigilance with the regard to situation with St Kieran's.

‘IRON CURTAIN’

Mr Rigney had praise for the local councillors and TDs that have worked with his committee in trying to get information from Minister Roderic O'Gorman's department. But they are also “meeting closed doors”, he claimed.

“It's a futile exercise. They're not able to get answers. We're not living in a democracy any more if that's the case. We vote so that people have a voice and the voice is through those councillors or politicians. But they're coming back saying they're not being told anything. There's an iron curtain around Roderic O'Gorman's department. They're not integrating with councils or communities; they're just giving us lip service.” The Rathcabbin Concerned Residents spokesman described his as an “injured community” following the Shannon Vermicomposting debacle that came to a head 20 years ago, and is only now coming to an end, millions of taxpayers' euros later. In his call for community action, he warned against any lack of diligence on St Kieran's, which he warned is seen as a “cash cow” by its operators in light of the amount of money that can be earned from accommodating IPAs.

Those attending the march are invited to meet at the hall in Rathcabbin at 12.30pm. Mr Rigney anticipated that it would take about an hour to walk out to The Pike. “It's a community thing and everyone is invited,” he said. “No one is being canvassed but if people feel strongly about it, they should turn up.”

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth was invited to comment on the situation in Rathcabbin. A spokesperson for the department stated:

"Please note that the department is responding to a large number of queries at present. The department can only confirm use of a premises once a contract has been signed, and will, in the first instance, inform local public representatives and statutory agencies.

"A Community Engagement Team (CET) has been established to engage directly with elected representatives, relevant local authorities, local development companies, and other entities and individuals.

"The purpose of the team is to improve the flow of information regarding arrivals into areas and to help equip local communities with the accurate information required to help them understand the current situation and to assist with the welcome and integration process for new arrivals."