Suspected arson at Galway hotel earmarked for asylum seekers ‘deeply sinister’

Integration minister Roderic O’Gorman has said the suspected arson of a building earmarked for use by asylum seekers was a “deeply sinister” act designed to intimidate international protection applicants.

The blaze broke out at the Ross Lake House Hotel in Rosscahill, Co Galway, at approximately 11.35pm on Saturday.

No-one is believed to have been inside the building at the time, and the fire service brought the flames under control.

The former hotel had not been in use for several years and had been selected to house 70 asylum seekers in the coming days.

The Government plan had been the subject of local opposition and demonstrators blocked the entrance to the hotel on Saturday in protest.

On Monday, Mr O’Gorman said the burning of the centre, which was due to house 70 applicants this week, would put the Government under “real pressure” at a time when it was already not able to house every arrival in the country.

Those due to be housed in Rosscahill were among the approximately 200 applicants without another offer of state accommodation.

Mr O’Gorman said: “What we saw took place in Galway was deeply sinister and I believe it was a criminal act. It was dangerous and resulted in severe damage to private property.

“I also think it was designed to intimidate people seeking international protection here in Ireland, people who use the international protection process have a right to be safely accommodated while their application is being adjudicated on.”

The minister said there was a “real challenge” with accommodating applicants and that the state was overly reliant on the private sector.

The state expected the total number of applicants for international protection to be approximately 13,000 people this year.

Speaking on RTE radio, Mr O’Gorman said there was “absolutely no evidence at all” of a link between migrants and violence.

Mr O’Gorman said: “I think it is really problematic when an elected representative comes on our national airwaves and makes these entirely bogus claims.”

Asked if it was fair to ask the community of approximately 300 people near the Ross Lake Hotel to welcome 70 asylum seekers overnight, he said: “It’s not overnight and we have a community engagement process set up whereby we communicate with elected representatives and community representatives in terms of the numbers of international protection applicants being moved into an area and the support that would be put in place.”

The minister said it was a “provision of information” rather than a consultation exercise.

The notification was given last Friday ahead of a planned move-in date on Thursday.

He said: “I think in the context of where we are also not able to accommodate a significant number of people right now, I do believe it’s adequate notice.”

Mr O’Gorman said every international protection applicant’s fingerprints were checked against two EU databases for past offences in member states.

He distinguished this from “vetting” as he said this referred to specifics around child protection.

Separately, Mr O’Gorman said a change to the accommodation offering for those fleeing the war in Ukraine who were provided with temporary protection would come into effect from the end of January or early February.

The changes would see state accommodation being provided to arriving Ukrainians for a maximum of 90 days, where it had previously been provided without limit.

Asked how Ukrainians would be removed after 90 days, Mr O’Gorman said that when other EU member states had changed their offering, they had not seen instances of Ukrainians refusing to engage with the process.

“I believe Ukrainians will be able to move on, whether it may be moving to another EU member state, it may be moving into the private sector here,” he said.

Government chief whip Hildegarde Naughton, a Fine Gael TD for Galway West, said the coalition needed to do more to counter misinformation about migrants who are coming to Ireland.

“I think we do, I think we do need to, I suppose, increase our communication around the fears,” she told RTE.

“For example, just to reassure people, we do have a rules-based system here in relation to people seeking asylum.

“All asylum seekers who come into this country, they’re registered, they’re photographed, they’re fingerprinted, they’re checked against watch lists.”

She added: “We have to be careful about the language we use and how we talk about migrants, people who are contributing hugely to our country and to our county here in Galway.”

Ms Naughton condemned the hotel fire.

“The events of Saturday evening last in Galway are deeply shocking and disturbing,” she said.

“And I think the overwhelming majority of people not just in Galway but across the country will feel similarly.

“I understand that people have concerns with immigration. That’s one thing, but as elected representatives and community leaders we need to be engaging with people and I think not playing into the playbook of the far right in relation to mistruths and lies that have been spread and we’ve seen examples of that across the country over the last few months.

“So we have a responsibility to engage with people, absolutely address their concerns, but have to also put it into perspective.”

Fianna Fail councillor Noel Thomas was among those who attended the blockade on Saturday evening.

He said no-one in the area condoned the suspected arson attack.

“People are disgusted with what happened to that hotel,” he told RTE.

But he said the prospect of 70 young males being moved into the hotel had instilled a “certain amount of fear into the local people”.

Mr Thomas said he did not think Ireland should continue to accept more people seeking asylum.

“I think at this stage, to be very honest, I think no, we shouldn’t, and I’m going to say that straight out,” he said.

“Because the inn is full. When you’re trying to solve a problem by creating more problems it really doesn’t make sense.

“Now what we have in his country at the moment, we have a situation here where we are bringing more and more people in here. We have no place for them stay, we’re putting them into hotels, we’re putting them into B&Bs or putting them into rooms and houses. That is not proper accommodation for people.

“And it’s actually causing a lot of upset in a lot of communities. We really have to start realising that the inn is full.”