The government continues to claim that it did not breach its policy of not contracting the sole hotel in the village, as the Merriman is not a hotel.
On 31st March in a Dáil question, Deputy Louis O’Hara (Sinn Fein) asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Norma Foley (Fianna Fail) if she would pause plans to provide an IPAS centre in the Merriman Hotel, Kinvara to allow for engagement with the local community, provide clarity on the future of the hotel’s current Ukrainian residents, and make a statement on the matter.
In a written answer (summarised by Kinvara Community Council), the Minister stated:
“My Department recently announced that 98 beds for families seeking international protection will be provided at the Merriman Hotel in Kinvara. The property was previously used to house people who were beneficiaries of the Temporary Protection Directive due to the war in Ukraine and was also used as an International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation centre prior to 2022.
At the moment, relocations of people from Ukraine are paused, and if any new information becomes available on longer-term accommodation arrangements for this group, residents and local community groups and supporters will be updated without delay.
One of the queries raised during community engagement in Kinvara was the agreement to not contract IPAS accommodation in a given town’s only operating hotel, which was accepted by Government during the period of intense need and was agreed to on the basis of not removing an important current amenity from public use. In the case of the Merriman Hotel in Kinvara, our understanding is that this hotel has not been in public use since the COVID-19 pandemic, and since 2022 it has been contracted to this Department to accommodate people fleeing the war in Ukraine. In this circumstance, it hasn’t been considered necessary to reject such an offer from a property as it was not providing a hotel facility in this community. “
Kinvara Community Council has responded to the Minister:
“Your understanding of the status of the hotel is a misrepresentation to deflect from the Government’s responsibility to follow its policy, specifically, the commitment not to remove the last hotel from public use in a community. “
We await a reply.
Meanwhile, we have asked our government Oireachtas members to redouble their efforts to make representations to their government colleagues to pause the contract and enter a dialogue with Kinvara Community Council on the use of the hotel. You may email your views to our East Galway TDs at:
Sean Canney (Independent) sean.canney@oireachtas.ie
Albert Dolan (Fianna Fail) albert.dolan@oireachtas.ie
Louis O’Hara (Sinn Fein) louis.ohara@oireachtas.ie
Pete Roche (Fine Gael) peter.roche@oireachtas.ie
Separately, a group of concerned residents have commenced an application for a judicial review of the Government decision. To support the application, you may sign the petition, which is available at: https://chng.it/25YfQnL7vR