Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I spoke to the Minister previously around the communication plan and the consultation that is required within communities in relation to the influx of people into a community. I had a certain incident outside Castlebar in a community in Breaffy where there was a major issue with transparency and accountability in terms of the hotel provider outlining what was happening with the establishment of both an international protection, IP, centre and a Ukrainian refugee centre. Going forward, it is crucially important that is put in place, be it through the local authority, councillors, Deputies and the Minister’s agency in terms of the procurement of these centres. People feel the rug is being pulled from underneath them. They want to support this – make no mistake about it. They want to integrate these people into the local schools and sporting clubs and make a comfortable experience for them. However, they are getting second-hand information. Certainly, there are people who are filling that information vacuum. Going forward, consultation would be very much appreciated, be it through the Minister’s Department, a press briefing or some mechanism that would work for the local community. That would be crucially important going forward.