*International protection applicants at Magowna House in Inch. Photograph: John Mangan
GOVERNMENT need to acknowledge that Co Clare “has taken enough” persons seeking asylum and refuge from the war in Ukraine, a Shannon councillor has said.
In a proposal which was passed at Monday’s meeting of Clare County Council, Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) called on the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Minister for Justice and Minister of State for Integration “to have consideration for the impact of placing huge numbers of people seeking asylum in Clare from a number of countries”.
Shannon based Flynn said the county had received “well in excess of 5,000 people through Direct Provision and the Ukrainian Crisis. The people in Clare have shown great generosity and hospitality in dealing with the high numbers being placed throughout the county by the Government. The impact in various communities is being felt where there is a deficiency in services to support the existing local community.
“Negative publicity portrays people in Clare as not being welcoming in dealing with new arrivals and this is dividing communities and causing huge stress at a time when people are struggling to deal with the high cost of living. Clare is one of the counties hosting high numbers and the constituents contacting me feel that the county of Clare has accommodated enough at this point in time, and they are of the opinion that the Government need to adequately address the deficiencies in support services available and put in place additional measures to help the integration of people seeking asylum in Ireland and the numbers placed in Clare,” he added.
Emphasising that the people of Clare were “very hospitable and generous,” Cllr Flynn referred back to “negative publicity which has shown our county as being less than welcoming”. He added, “the motion is requesting the Government to consider the impact through Clare which is one of the highest receivers in Ireland and to accept that Co Clare has taken enough at this moment in time”.
Although he supported the motion, Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF) clarified that he was not in favour of saying no to people coming to the county. “The key point is the integration without a doubt, it is a difficult job, when it comes to our health services, there’s an influx of more people on the educational side and some people coming with no English”. He added, “We’re not saying no but we’re saying are we finding it difficult, there’s a restrained there”.
Lack of services needs to be the focus of the proposal, Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) believed. “Clare people are decent and welcoming but we have to understand that they have struggled for years to access services. It is not the migrants or refugees fault that we have a lack of services, the appalling lack of information is adding to the frustration, I don’t support the call for no more but the overall sentiments,” she explained.
There is a “massive dearth in the provision of services,” Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) commented. “This is about providing and addressing areas that need to be serviced anyway,” he said.
