Offaly man calls for reassessment of Ireland's capacity to absorb unlimited numbers of refugees

A housing campaigner in Offaly maintains the Government has no legal obligation to take in an unlimited number of refugees.

In a letter to the Editor published recently in the Tullamore Tribune, Kev O Faoláin from Tullamore writes: 

"A chairde Gael agus Gall,

In the first instance, let me make clear that I firmly believe that Ireland, in the name of humanity and decency, should extend all the help it can to those who seek our assistance fleeing war and persecution across the world. Despite much rhetoric and speculation, I firmly believe that the vast majority of those seeking protection in Ireland have experienced huge trauma and grief and that they are our brothers and sisters in humanity.

However, I have been for several weeks now watched with growing unease what is unfolding before our eyes in this country and we need to have a frank conversation with ourselves.

Against the backdrop of a decade long serious housing crisis in the country, described by President Higgins as a "disaster", Ireland has taken in over 100,000 refugees, 75,000 of whom come from war-torn Ukraine in the last 18 months.

This number is higher than may NATO countries involved in this war, including France (68,000) and compares well with the UK (161,000).

Both France and the UK are countries with 12 times the population of the Republic.

This Republic is in the midst of multiple social crises, in housing, health, schooling, public services and several other areas. The most pressing of these crises is housing, which is the most fundamental of human needs in Maslow's “Hierarchy of Needs”.

Ireland has an "official" homeless number of 11,500. Officially a record.

However, the criteria to define homelessness in Ireland has been shamefully and deliberately constrained by Fine Gael some years ago to only include those in Emergency Accommodation. It excludes rough-sleepers, it excludes people staying with friends or family. It excludes people living in their cars and vans.

The true figure of homelessness is according to some estimates above 30,000, and the reason that the official figure never seems to go above the 12,000 mark is that there are no more Emergency Accommodation spaces left in the State. 

In Tullamore alone last August, there were 14 people living in tents in Charleville Forest, in the town park and along the canal line. In fact, there are now waiting lists in local authorities across the State for rough sleepers to access Emergency Accommodation.

I personally am at this time endeavouring to secure Emergency Accommodation for four people: one from Laois, one from Offaly and two from Westmeath. One of them is 60 years old, with COPD and other ailments, who is living in a tent outside Kilbeggan. I have on several occasions rang at least 25 B &Bs in the three counties on their behalf. Not one B &B could commit to taking one for even two consecutive nights.

Let there be no confusion about this: the collapse in Emergency Accommodation availability is a direct result of the numbers of refugees we have taken in. Every available place has been allocated to incoming refugees, who we should remember are in desperate need also.

Which brings me to the most controversial issue of recent months: Communities across the country are watching their own fellows being left literally out in the cold while large numbers of refugees are being brought into their communities with absolutely zero discussion with those communities.

We are providing shelter for I estimate over 250 refugees in Tullamore

There are plans for 300 refugees in Kilcormac, a town of 945 people.

There are plans for 250 refugees in Castletown Geoghegan, a village of 150 people.
There are plans for 150 refugees in Kilbeggan, a town of 1300 people.

And this is happening all across the country. Meanwhile, mass evictions are occurring across the country. Lock House View in Tullamore last August is just one example.

Communities are, rightly in my opinion, standing up and objecting to these influxes in the face of the ongoing social crises we are facing. And these who are voicing their concerns are being outrageously smeared as "far right" and as racists. This is a disgraceful attempt to silence the majority of people, 84% of whom, according to the recent Irish Times Ipsos poll, are very concerned that Ireland does not have the capacity to continue to absorb further numbers.

Micheál Martin recently spoke in the Dáil and said that Ireland cannot limit numbers and that we have some sort of legal obligation in this regard. 

According to the EU's own website Europa.eu :  "Ireland currently has no European Union obligation to take in refugees as it has an opt-in or opt-out clause on individual proposals in the areas of freedom, security and justice through the EU Treaty of Lisbon."

Plans were released last week to build 60 modular homes in Clonminch, to exclusively accommodate 240 Ukrainian refugees.
Our Government has pleaded inability to address the housing crisis faced by hundreds of thousands of Irish people for the last decade, but can now find the wherewithal and political will to build 60 houses in Tullamore.

Fair play is fine fun as my grandmother used to say, but enough is enough:

Ireland does not have a legal obligation to take in unlimited numbers of refugees.

The Government cannot, or will not, address the urgent needs of tens of thousands of Irish citizens;

The Government is providing assistance to incoming refugees while categorically refusing to do the same for thousands of Irish citizens living in utter destitution;

And this Government has falsely claimed we have a legal obligation to take in more and more and ever more refugees, despite the EU's own statement on Ireland's obligations, or lack thereof, and is grotesquely smearing ordinary citizens who are saying that we cannot cope with further numbers as “far right”.

This is an obscene state of affairs, and is proof positive that the Government is wilfully and deliberately abdicating its primary responsibility, which is the welfare of the people of Ireland.

We as a country are carrying more than our fair share, to the extreme detriment of thousands of citizens. It is abundantly clear this Government does not have the confidence of the people in the most urgent social crisis to hit Ireland arguably since the Land War of the 1880s, the revolutionary period of 1916 to 1923 notwithstanding. As such, this Government has lost its mandate.

I call on the Government to call an immediate General Election, and allow the democratic will of the people of Ireland to decide what way we wish to proceed. 84% of the people cannot, by definition, be "far right" - the Government is far wrong in saying so."