John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment. It concerns the conversion in Clondalkin village of what was an hotel to an accommodation facility for asylum seekers. In recent days, concerns have been raised over the fact that this hotel was converted without the knowledge of the local authority, councillors or Members of this House who represent the area. A silent deal seems to have been done without due regard to the local community. I have mentioned the matter to the Minister who indicated to me that details of the arrangement were unknown to him in advance. The deal has effectively converted an 80-room hotel in Clondalkin village into accommodation for up to 250 asylum seekers.

While I fully understand and appreciate that such accommodation is necessary, in this particular instance the location is most inappropriate. It is inappropriate to try to locate 60 to 80 families in a hotel with no balconies, not an inch of green space and in an environment where all the local schools are short of capacity and have waiting lists for pupils. This year, one of the schools in Clondalkin village had to arrange for additional capacity in a third classroom.

The asylum hostel, as it is referred to locally, has come into being without anybody in the community having been contacted or consulted. The long-term needs of asylum seekers in the hostel have not been considered and neither have the needs of the community. There is a strong sense of disappointment that the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, which is ultimately responsible, has not become engaged in the matter in any sense. Ultimately, it will be a matter for the local authority and probably An Bord Pleanála to determine if the significant change in use from a hotel to a long-term residential facility requires planning permission. Although the change was significant, there has been no consultation with the local community.

I have a number of questions for the Minister of State. Can he postpone any further expansion of the facility until the community, the local authority and local representatives, including myself, are consulted about future developments? Will discussions be entered into with the local authority to see if planning permission is required for such a change of use? Will discussions be held with the Department of Education and Science to determine what will be the requirements, if any, of those residing in this asylum facility? Will the Minister of State determine whether this is an appropriate facility?

The facility does not have a single balcony or open area. When one walks out the back door of the hostel one is in a builders' providers yard on a main road, which seems most inappropriate. I have noticed that colleagues who might be election candidates for some of the Opposition parties have raised fears about the facility. I agree with some of their concerns. It would be more appropriate to locate such a facility elsewhere because its current location will be of no benefit to asylum seekers or the local community. It should be abandoned.

It is most frustrating that neither I nor other local representatives, including the Minister for Health and Children, were informed of this project in advance. It was up and running before we knew about it. When representatives from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform attend the Committee of Public Accounts tomorrow to discuss certain other sites which have been acquired, they will refer to the Department's openness. However, there was no openness in this instance and absolutely no consultation or advance notice was given of the impact on the community. We are most disappointed but I believe the Minister was personally unaware of the decision because I meet him regularly and, if he had known the facts, he would have revealed them to me.

I urge the Minister to halt further work on this project until we have engaged in meaningful negotiations, which will be necessary if the hostel is to become part of our community. In the interests of the community and the possible future residents of the institution, it cannot just be thrown into Clondalkin.

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