By Andy Spearman
For Minister Roderic O’Gorman to stymie efforts to grow local tourism by signing away Drogheda’s only tourist hotel for exclusive use as shelter for asylum seekers is the latest symptom of the contempt with which the Government have treated Ireland’s biggest town for many years.
To deal this hammer blow without consulting local business and political leaders in advance as to what the likely outcome would be is the ultimate insult and has resulted in unprecedented levels of anger throughout the local community.
If he is still unaware of the damage he has done to the economy of this town, which was already reeling from lack of investment, then perhaps it is time for Mr. O’Gorman to think long and hard about continuing in his job.
To invite local councillors, TDs and business leaders to talks in Leinster house AFTER the contract was only ever going to be a PR exercise in damage limitation.
it’s not just Minister O’Gorman and his Department that have treated Drogheda so shabbily though. It has been a government-wide failing and one that will surely cost them dear come election time.
They have failed to tackle the housing and cost of living crises. They’ve failed to fund the local authorities with the result that, like many other towns in the country, creaking infrastructure, dereliction and neglect have become the norm. This in a country that is the wealthiest it has ever been.
Yes, they have funded the extension of the DART service to Drogheda but to many that is an indicator of just how they see Drogheda – as a dormitory town for Dublin.
Following meetings on Monday last, (March 4) with local business and political representatives, Minister O’Gorman wrote to them yesterday Saturday March 9) and effectively closed off any further conversation, such as it was, by saying:
“The opening of this hotel as an IPAS accommodation centre is essential to ensure that we have sufficient family accommodation for IP applicants entering the State.
“I appreciate the leadership you have all shown locally and how difficult the past few weeks have been for the community. This is not easy, nor would it be our first choice if we had other options.
“We have discussed the “dual occupancy” proposal at length with the hotel owner. However, very serious concerns remain. Firstly, and most importantly, from a child safeguarding point of view, there are significant issues associated with either dual use option.
“As is set out in our National Standards, IPAS service providers have a duty to take all reasonable steps to protect each child from abuse and neglect, and to ensure that children’s safety and welfare is protected.
“…. By operating a hotel as dual- purpose IPAS residents would be exposed to more risk or potential harm due to the constant throughput of commercial customers arriving in the hotel and it would be substantially more difficult for the mandated person to manage child protection.”
In response Drogheda and District Chamber expressed their deep disappointment at the Government’s decision.
“Despite efforts by the Chamber, and Love Drogheda BID, to engage with government officials to seek a resolution, the closure will result in a significant reduction in bed capacity in the town” they said.
The Chamber had proposed a ‘dual purpose’ usage model for the hotel, akin to systems implemented in other regions across the country. However, citing child protection concerns and the hotel’s design, the government deemed such a solution unfeasible.”
Hubert Murphy, President of Drogheda and District Chamber said: “The focus of Drogheda and District Chamber has been on finding a resolution to this problem – in partnership with others from the town – but that now seems impossible.
“The town is now facing a huge issue in respect of bed numbers, and this will impact its viability into the future if left unchecked.”
Murphy emphasised Drogheda’s longstanding struggles with accommodation shortages, highlighting the urgency of addressing the situation. “This needs to be the line in the sand,” he explained.
“From now on, the focus, at national and international levels, must be to drive the town forward on a grand scale. As a Chamber, we intend to lobby at every opportunity, introduce key stakeholders to the benefits of doing business by the Boyneside – hotel and accommodation providers included.
‘Resilience’ has been a key word for this town over the last few years and in the coming months, those that sit in government and in industrial and business sectors, both here and abroad, will hear a clear message, that Drogheda is open for business. We won’t be waiting for them to come to us, we’ll be knocking on their doors.”
In a joint statement Drogheda councillors said that in their opinion the March 4 meeting with the Taoiseach, Ministers O’Gorman and Humphries had been “a wase of time.”
“No viable options were raised by Government at the meeting and we were told that the issues being discussed would be examined. On the 9th March we then received a letter from the Minister setting out effectively the end of his interaction with us.
“This is utterly unacceptable and the Minister is washing his hands of the elected representatives who have tried to work with Government when Government failed utterly in working with the elected representative in signing this contract.”
Responding to Minster O’Gorman’s letter, Labour TD Ged Nash said the people of Drogheda have been badly let down by this government.
“Our concern was only and ever about the loss of Drogheda’s only large-scale full-service hotel ” he said. “This was proven by the fact that so few locals attended a far-right led demonstration three weeks ago.
“In Saturday’s letter, Minister O’Gorman states that the use of hotels “is not easy, nor would it be our first choice if we had any other options.”
“The truth is this is a problem of this government’s own making. There would be other options if this government had chosen to develop and provide appropriate accommodation built and operated by the State, on State land. Instead, they have taken the easy option.
“Efforts to isolate a Green Minister by Fine Gael and Fianna Fail will not wash. This is a collective failure by this government and government representatives in Louth have some explaining to do to the people of Drogheda.
“This week I have learned from a reply to a Parliamentary Question that the hotel was initially offered to the Department to assist with the response to the Ukraine crisis. The Department rejected that offer and then proposed to the hotel owners that the hotel could be considered as a facility to house international protection applicants.
“One way or the other, there appeared to be a determination that a deal would be done and that Drogheda’s only hotel of major scale would as a result be taken out of commercial use.
“Public representatives feel they were played by government and last week’s meeting with the Taoiseach, and Ministers O’Gorman and Humphreys have all the hallmarks of a face-saving courtesy meeting.
“Drogheda must now move on from this. We will welcome with warmth, decency, generosity, humanity and solidarity the families who will come to Drogheda under all kinds of difficult human circumstances over the next few weeks and months.
“Drogheda is a proud, tolerant and compassionate town. We are a welcoming place and we will lead by example.”
