Up to 220 asylum seekers are set to lose home as centre is about to be turned into a five-star hotel

Red Carnation Group (the group behind the luxury Ashford Castle hotel) announced on Sunday at a staff event in London that they have plans to open another five-star hotel in Dublin at a location currently used to house up to 220 asylum seekers.

Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, Niall Gibbons, shared the news on social media alongside an image of Hatch Hall, which is currently used as a direct provision centre.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said Hatch Hall is currently contracted to serve as a direct provision centre until 16 January, 2020. He also stated that the Department hasn’t been formally notified that the contract might terminate earlier than that date.

Also, in the event of the contract being terminated before the expiry date, the Department vows to take all appropriate steps including by seeking to re-accommodate those still in the protection process within RIA’s accommodation portfolio and by providing residents with status or permission to remain with assistance to move on from accommodation centres."

Hatch Hall was contracted to house 220 asylum seekers until 2020

Founded in 1913, Hatch Hall was previously used to house UCD students including former taoiseach Brian Cowen and Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary.

The property was bought by developer Gerry Barrett in 2004 for over €16 million, who announced intentions to develop the hall into a hotel, but it has been used as a direct provision for over a decade.

In a statement on social media, a spokesperson for Red Carnations said: "We look forward to opening our third property in the country and continue supporting Irish hospitality."

While the Irish Refugee Council said: "If and when this happens, Hatch Hall will be the third direct provision centre (Watergate Hall and Gardiner Street the others) to recently close in Dublin.

"Crucial that people living there, many who have strong connections to Dublin (school, study, medical) can remain here."

The Department of Justice says the Reception and Integration Agency has processes in place to assist those with status or permission to remain who have chosen not to leave direct provision accommodation and to move on from centres.

The DOJ confirmed not opening a refugee centre in Rooskey

Last week, the DOJ confirmed plans to open an accommodation centre for refugees in Rooskey on the Roscommon/Leitrim border will not go ahead.
In a statement, a department spokesperson said that the decision was made not to proceed with the asylum centre at the Shannon Key West Hotel following difficulties with the lease.

"The Department of Justice and Equality regrets that it is not in a position to proceed with plans to open an accommodation centre in the Shannon Key West Hotel, Rooskey," a spokesperson told the press.

"The decision was taken following legal advice sought from the Chief State Solicitors Office which found difficulties with the lease agreement between the owners of the hotel, and the operator renting it, which made proceeding with the proposed centre unviable."

They added that the department is "not party to these lease arrangements" and that the matters were outside their control. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan denied the government gave in to "racist arsonists" by making this decision. The proposed centre in Rooskey had been hit by two arson attacks in recent months.

Source: https://www.independent.ie