Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

On 25 November, groups from across Ireland came together to honour the forgotten fallen of the National Army Civil War dead. Representatives of the deceased families, veterans, members of the public, public representatives and expert historical groups came together to honour the memory of those who gave their lives for the foundation of the modern Irish State. As of yet, these 1,000-plus men are not commemorated in any formal Irish State commemorative ceremony. Their stories have been forgotten and their service is unaccounted for at national level. The group came together to remember them and it is my hope the National Army will be remembered every November from now on. They were the men who saved our democracy at the time. I know the Civil War was bitter and that what happened on both sides was terrible. That is the nature of civil war. However, we cannot remember one side and forget the other. It is as simple as that.

On a second issue, the Leader and everybody in this House will be aware of the pressure county councillors come under when something happens in their local area. Right now, the Department is moving into various areas to take over hotels for either asylum seekers or Ukrainian refugees. We and they fully understand this has to happen, but a number of councillors have contacted me in recent weeks to express real concern about the way things are done. They are not consulted before any decision is made. The first they hear of a decision is when a bus arrives in the area carrying refugees or asylum seekers; there is a difference between the two. I am aware of one hotel in Dublin that, up until a few days ago, was taking bookings for family gatherings. A leisure centre had been negotiated and all sorts of events were planned for this hotel but, all of a sudden, people were told the hotel was no longer available because it had been taken over for asylum seekers. Surely the least we could do is to prepare those on the ground, whom we represent, for what is about to happen in their communities. The one question I was asked is whether there is a need for planning permission for change of use for these hotels. Will the Leader look into that for us?