Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste visited Clonmel some months ago when he met with Nora O’Dwyer and Andrea Crowe regarding Dundrum House Hotel and its use as a refuge for hundreds of people from Ukraine. They have been settled in and integrated into the community. Many work in the community. The Tánaiste made commitments that day to get back to them but they have not heard a peep since. Now we understand that this refuge has been changed over to the International Protection Accommodation Service, IPAS. There has been no engagement with the community. I spoke to the engagement team this morning who are expecting an announcement. There is angst, fear and upset because they had worked so hard on integration and the various services for the Ukrainians. They got on very well but now there is change without any engagement. There is a 24-hour vigil at the gate of the hotel. People there are very upset and that is why they continue that. They deserve to be consulted. I thought when we had a change of Minister or the Department, when immigration services went into the Department of Justice, that we might see some change in this situation and I still hope that we will. Money is being wasted. We were talking about money this morning.

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