‘Fear and confusion’ over future use of County Roscommon apartments
People gathered outside a Castlerea apartment block on Monday night.
Uncertainty over the future use of apartments in Castlerea is leading to ‘fear and confusion’ among local people, according to a local councillor.
Fianna Fáil Councillor Paschal Fitzmaurice has raised concerns about what he describes as the lack of clarity around the future use of part of an apartment complex in the town.
There has been local speculation that a section of the property will be used to accommodate International Protection Applicants who are seeking asylum in Ireland.
In a statement Cllr Fitzmaurice said that after numerous contacts with International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS), he has received no confirmation to date that the apartments will become an IPAS centre.
Describing the lack of clarity on the issue as unacceptable, he said that information on their use should have been given to elected members of Roscommon County Council and Oireachtas members. “This has brought fear and confusion for the people who live in Castlerea,” he said.
The councillor also pointed to an accommodation shortage for local people and families, and believed the town was not the right place for “this style of accommodation due to a housing shortage and it being a small town with limited service”.
“We have many Ukrainian and other families who live in Castlerea and they have been made welcome. We have people from many countries living and working in Castlerea and they contribute greatly to our local society," he said.
Cllr Fitzmaurice said he was contacting Oireachtas members, Roscommon County Council and IPAS again in a further bid to establish clarity on the property’s future use.
Roscommon-Galway Sinn Féin Deputy Claire Kerrane has also contacted the Department of Integration to seek information.
Deputy Kerrane said it was unacceptable that elected representatives had no information. “We are now getting queries from constituents with genuine concerns and I am being put in a position where I cannot answer them truthfully and correctly,” she said.
At the time of going to press the Department of Integration had not responded to queries on the issue from the Roscommon Herald.
