'Major distress among Puckane residents' over asylum centre plans

A group of residents in Puckane say plans to create a permanent asylum centre in the small rural village have caused "major distress" in their community.

Following recent coverage of plans by a Dublin based property group to convert the village's 12 thatched holiday cottages to a permanent facility for accommodating people seeking asylum in Ireland, the Puckane residents group issued a statement outlining why they feel the property is unsuitable for the repurposing plans.

Double Property Group (DPG), a family run company, have over 25 years of providing properties to the government for social housing initiatives, but in recent years have diversified into the development of Direct Provision Centres and now Asylum Seeker Reception Centres.

After securing a tender in August of this year, DPG set on meeting the tender requirements by finding a development of 10 (minimum 2 bed) units for sale. The thatched cottages in Puckane were put on the market in the summer priced at €2-million.

The DPG group published a letter last week in a local newspaper, which received strong condemnation from local representatives at the montly meeting of the Nenagh Municipal Council last week.

Strong objections to accommodating asylum seekers in Puckane

The Puckane Community Group issued a statement critical of the plans and said "what has has ensued is a perfect example of complete lack of research, pitiful stakeholder engagement and ultimately a complete disregard for the ultimate wellbeing of
those they are supposed to accommodate and decimation of a local community".

The group representing the wider community say they are focused on three issues: Suitability for incoming residents; the decimation of Puckane's tourism potential and the unsustainable growth of a local community.

"DPG will be unable to provide a basic standard of living and adequate access to services for the incoming residents. Detailed in the tender requirements, there is a condition that the premises proposed should ideally be in a city or town and must be within walking distance of services and amenities - this is for a valid reason", the group said.

"How can they justify the selection of a small tourist village like Puckane for this requirement? Focusing on the issue of access to basic services, there are no schools in the area (including Nenagh) that aren’t currently operating over the government’s teacher/student ratio and all have confirmed there won’t be room for any additional students.

"This lack of basic research stretches to healthcare provisions also – there are already substantial waiting times for healthcare services in the area", the community group said.

The group also expressed concern for their village's capability to cope with such a dramatic and sudden increase in the community's population - which they say will represent a 27-30% overnight increase in the local population (70-90
people added to a population of 220).

"DPG have not been able to provide any example of a success story or a plan to integrate such a number into a small community in one go. While it has been requested, they have not been able to produce a clear written communication strategy and action plan for engagement with the local Puckane community", the group said.

"Puckane has for generations been a well-known tourism destination. Our cottages, at the heart of the village are one of the few remaining 'Rent an Irish cottage' locations – they have been a go-to for tourists coming from around the world for over fifty years now" the group said.

"The site has a large impact on the local economy - from supporting local hotels and wedding venues, restaurants and bars, taxis and hackneys to activity providers based in neighboring villages – all will all see a substantial loss during the high season. Covid had positive impact and reinvigorated the appetite to holiday in Ireland and there has been large uptick in activity around the cottages in recent years.

"Double Property Group were unwilling and unable to thoroughly discuss any of the issues at a recent stakeholder engagement meeting- they were of the view that once they have provided accommodation, it is the various government departments responsibilities to provide the essential services for the people they are accommodating.

"This complete disregard for the wellbeing of those who might take up residence in Puckane poses a grave risk to both their well-being as well as the future prosperity of our village, all for the sake of profit for Double Property Group", the group said.