Deputy Carol Nolan supports Roscrea women protesting while Justice Minister says no crime increase in the town

Following recent protests in Roscrea outside the Main Street Garda Station by local women, Dáil representative and member of the rural group of Independent TDs Carol Nolan has come out in support of the demonstration, while Justice Minister, Helen McEntee says their concerns are misguided. 

Minister McEntee told TippFM at the Tipperary Chamber President's Lunch in Thurles yesterday: "I think there is an attempt, and I'm not saying by the women, to suggest that migrant communities and those who are coming to seek protection are somehow automatically criminals.

"I have to push back on that very strongly, there are no facts to back that up. We have a population where 20% of the people living in the country are not from this country and we will always have a mixture of people committing crimes, but those that want to sow division and sow fear will hone in on that one, or two, or three single incidents and make it look as if its a very different situation.

"I'm not dismissing anybody's concerns, but I would say there is an attempt to instill that fear in people that shouldn't necessarily be there. The migrant community in this country have contributed so much - without them we wouldn't have GP services in many counties, we wouldn't have carers in nursing homes and other parts or our health service; we wouldn't have people working on the building sites building the houses that we so desperately need.

"So we really need to make sure there is an understanding of what a migrant does, who they are and that they contribute not just financially, but culturally as well.

"I think more broadly people want to see more Gardaí and they want that presence on the ground to feel safe in general and to feel safe irrespective of who is in their community, but I would push back very strongly on any link between migrants and crime because the facts are just not there", the Justice Minister said. 

There has been a strong reaction to the Justice Minister's comments in Roscrea, with people expressing their frustration at Minister McEntee's comments on local social media groups and pointing to several recent incidents of recorded crimes in the town which contradict her statements.

Several local people expressed disappointment that the Justice Minister was in Thurles yesterday and close to Roscrea, but did not stop to visit protestors at Racket Hall and hear their concerns in person. 

Today Independent TD for Laois/Offaly Carol Nolan has said that she has never experienced the volume of representations currently being made to her by women, young and old, who feel they are enduring something akin to a process of “prolonged psychological intimidation that is a direct result of government policies related to international protection accommodation.”

Deputy Nolan was speaking following the protest in Roscrea organised by local women following an alleged incident involving a young mother and her two children in the town centre on Sunday last.

Women in the Tipperary town protested outside the local Garda station to highlight their anger at what they say is government indifference to their concerns.

“What I am hearing from women and indeed their families every day of the week is nothing short of heart breaking and terrifying. Some of these women say they have not had a peaceful night in six months," Deputy Nolan said.

“This is a completely disorientating experience for very many people who have gone from living in quiet uneventful areas to areas where they literally feel like they are prisoners in their own homes. That is the genuine feeling many women now have, whether government or anybody else wants to hear it.”

“I have elderly women, grandmothers, contacting me to say that they will no longer take a stroll in the evening or walk about their towns or villages unescorted. How on earth has it come to this?”

“The concealment of information from TDs, Senators, communities, local authorities, even local gardaí, is a disgraceful insult to these communities who are simply ‘informed’ when a decision has been taken to accommodate large numbers of people in their towns and villages.”

“Who the hell do these people think they are and how dare they treat people with such contempt.”

“We are witnessing massive levels of community disruption, fear, and intimidation and what I am saying quite clearly is we will no longer sit back and take it. All Government party representatives, at every level from local authority to the Dáil and Seanad are on notice that the people will make their frustration heard at the ballot box,” Deputy Nolan finished.

Meanwhile, protests are now beyond the six week mark outside the Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea. Initially less than 20 people were housed for emergency accommodation, but the number of people accommodated in the former hotel has increased in the last fortnight as small numbers of people have been arriving by taxi.

The facility is expected to accommodate 160 people when it reaches full capacity.

A local woman with a placard reading 'Roscrea Say No More!' stands on the Main Street outside the local Garda Station. Photos: PJ Wright