Clonminch residents ''up in arms'' over non consultation for Ukrainian housing

THE lack of consultation by the Office of Public Works with the people of Clonminch in Tullamore over plans for the housing of Ukrainians in the area, is causing outrage among residents.

At the monthly meeting of Tullamore Municipal District, Councillor Tony McCormack said there are plans to have 62 modular homes placed on council owned land in Clonminch.

''I don't think anyone has any problem with housing Ukrainian refugees. As a matter of fact we know it's our duty and we are delighted to do it,'' said Cllr McCormack.

''We had a presentation from the Department and from the OPW who are putting in those houses. We were guaranteed that a consultation would be had with the residents up there before any sod is turned on that site. We now have a situation where the residents are up in arms, not because the site is being used to build modular housing, but because they haven't been taken into consideration and the right planning hasn't gone in to putting it together,'' he stressed.

''At the moment it's like Guantanamo Bay, it has fencing and barbed wire which is going around existing residential units and I think it's very unfair of the Department and the OPW to treat these people with such disdain, to actually ride roughshod over them and not take into consideration their needs and recommendations into how they want to be treated as being on the side of this particular site,'' he said.

Cllr McCormack asked the council to write to the OPW to emphasise the need for the people of Clonminch to be included in the plans.

''This doesn't bode well for them (OPW) trying to do this elsewhere because the fact that we handed over this land to them in a section 183 was because of the assurances we were given. I'll tell you one thing if I thought for one second what happened was going to happen I wouldn't have signed up for it and I wouldn't have voted in favour of allowing it to go through'' said Cllr McCormack.

Agreeing, Councillor Sean O'Brien said, ''it's just not good enough. The council had no say, good bad or indifferent. We had no say with regards to the land, that land was zoned for industry and it was taken out of our hands.

So it's the Government of the day that have to stand up as well. It's easy for people locally to give out, but it's their own party's Government that are making these decisions. I think it's disgraceful the way they are being treated,'' he said.

The Cathaoirleach of Tullamore Municipal District, Councillor Neil Feighery said while there is an obligation to house Ukrainian refugees, the land at Clonminch was handed over in the belief that there would be a full round of consultation with the people of the area.

''It's beyond belief that heavy track machines and heavy construction machinery moved in on site and topsoil was removed without the residents living right beside the site having had any communication with the Department of Children, Equality Disability and Integration or the OPW. It was so heavy handed,'' he said.

''We always want to ensure there is a lot of consultation and as an Executive we have always achieved that. We had no role in that. And to add insult to injury it really has left a sour taste in residents mouths.''

Cllr Feighery said they had met with a representative of the OPW and two and a half weeks later, ''while construction work proceeds at pace we have heard nothing since,'' he added.

''The residents are very clear and they appreciate that these poor Ukrainian refugees who are fleeing war need to be housed somewhere, and they are not objecting to the principle of the development. But it certainly needs an awful lot to be desired. There are so many lessons to be learned for other projects across the country,'' said Cllr Feighery

Before the meeting ended Cllr McCormack said he had been on the the phone to Deputy Barry Cowen on the issue and some progress is being made on the matter.