Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, for coming to the Chamber this evening to deal with this Topical Issue matter. We might have a difference of opinion at times but the Minister of State engages quite a lot. We also had a scenario with the centre in Ballaghadereen some time back.

This Topical Issue matter concerns a centre, which I accept is a direct provision centre, on the Leitrim side. It is not in the Roscommon-Galway constituency. Deputy Fitzmaurice and I represent the Roosky area and much of the village is in County Roscommon. I am not here with any flowery presentation for the Minister of State nor to make a glossy speech. I am here to talk facts. I acknowledge we need to accept the agreements Ireland into which has entered to take in asylum seekers and to make their lives an bit better, and I fully pledge my support in that regard. However, the method by which it is being done in many parts of the State is causing grave concern. People should not be locked away in direct provision centres for seven, eight or ten years as I heard one lady say last night on the television.

Whether one is on the Leitrim or Roscommon side of Roosky, and Deputy Fitzmaurice will be aware of this, it is the veil of secrecy that surrounded this news that is really annoying the local community. This community is rebuilding its village. This community has many foreign nationals living in it who are treated like everyone else in the village. It is unacceptable to me and the other public representatives in the area to suggest bringing in 80 plus people to live in a hotel there, increasing the population by at least 15% where there is not the proper infrastructure, where there are not the jobs and where there is not the public transport.

We have to change the way we deal with direct provision. The way it is being dealt with is not good enough. I am sure the Government also recognises that there will have to be improvements in the way the matter is dealt with. We need to have more consultation with local people. It is really annoying to think that there was such a lack of consultation with the local community in this case. Were the teachers in the school spoken to? Were the local doctors spoken to? Was there any talk about reopening the health centre that was closed in the last 12 or 18 months? No, there was not. That is not good enough.

I consider the communities I represent in Roosky and other places in the Roscommon-Galway constituency as mature communities and I am sure the representatives on the Sligo-Leitrim side also feel the same. These people would like to be told what might be happening in their community. I consider them to be intelligent people who certainly would not turn a blind eye to people in need. The manner in which Government is dealing with this is unacceptable.

I accept the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, is a decent individual who always picks up the phone to people when they make representations on issues. Why were the people of Roosky not informed of this? Why was there no consultation? Why was there no engagement with the schools or the doctors? I asked for a meeting last week for the public representatives from Roscommon-Galway and Sligo-Leitrim, which was granted, but it now seems to have gone off the agenda. Why were the people in the community not met, as they requested? I will give the Minister of State an opportunity to answer those questions.

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