‘Lack of engagement’ on Middleton Park

Minister Roderic O’Gorman has come under fire for his “lack of engagement” with the people of Castletown Geoghegan over the proposal to house 240 IP (international protection) applicants at Middleton Park House.

The chair of the Castletown Geoghegan Village Steering Committee, Deirdre Clarke, says the community are becoming increasingly frustrated by the “cut and paste” responses from the Dept of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to their queries.

The latest update the group received was last Tuesday from Deputy Robert Troy, who informed them that the service provider planning to house IP applicants in Middleton Park have told the department that the accommodation could be ready within four weeks.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Ms Clarke said that following a Zoom meeting with the minister on March 27, the group are frustrated with the “one or two line” responses from his department.

Two weeks before the online meeting, the group sent the minister a 200-page document outlining why they believe the village is an unsuitable location for IP applicants.

“He told us after the meeting that he would take time to review the document, but since then he has chosen not to respond to our queries. We get the same one or two lines from him,” Ms Clarke said.

“We have been in contact with the Office of the Ombudsman as we don’t feel that we should keep getting the same cut and past responses from the minister’s officer about what he is going to do with Middleton Park.

“It is frustrating. The minister maintains that he likes to engage with communities, but due to the urgency of the situation it is not always possible.

“We have given the minister numerous opportunities since February to have meaningful engagement with us, but he just keeps keeping us at arm’s length and is not giving us the engagement we deserve.”

The steering group say that if the government go ahead with an initial proposal to house 240 people in Middleton Park, it will change the fabric of the village by increasing its population by 170 per cent. The group say Castletown Geoghegan does not have the infrastructure or services needed.

“We are half an hour away from Athlone. There is no garda presence in Castletown Geoghegan since the station closed in 2013. The health centre is open part time.

“We acknowledge that these people need to be accommodated somewhere but it should be somewhere where they can have meaningful lives, where they can have access to transport, employment and amenities.

“Minister O’Gorman said they could be bused to Dublin – a Green proposing that buses be used to bring IP applicants to and from Dublin seems counterproductive. You hear about difficulties local parents have securing school bus places to Kilbeggan for their children, and it seems we are being pushed down the pecking order regarding priorities.”

The steering group held a meeting last Wednesday night to update the community.

Ms Clarke said lack of concrete information is having a negative effect. “It’s brought a cloud over everybody, the lack of engagement. We feel we are not being heard, and we deserve to be heard. This is about us but [decisions are being made] without us.

“We have been following what is happening at the army barracks in Mullingar. What is being proposed there is accommodating 300 people. A town like Mullingar can easily absorb that; Castletown Geoghegan can’t.

“We offered Minister O’Gorman an invitation to see how few services we have. He hasn’t taken us up on it. We are doing everything to engage with the minister in a reasonable manner. We acknowledge the pressure he is under and have always acknowledged that he has a duty to comply with Ireland’s obligations. The government, however, have a duty of care to the people currently living here too.”

Minister of State Peter Burke said he understands people’s concerns: “I’ve worked closely with the Castletown Geoghegan and it is frustrating in terms of the lack of information and uncertainty. I met Minister O’Gorman with the group and made it clear that under no circumstances could I support the proposal on the table in relation to 244 IP applicants.

“This size and scale are inappropriate for a village that size. I have taken my feelings and those of the people of Castletown to the highest levels of government. I will still work in the days and months ahead to try to change the minds of the department and International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) in connection with it.”

Deputy Robert Troy said that while the Minister O’Gorman did meet the group, he is “disappointed” with the lack of engagement since and he to is “getting it hard” to obtain answers from the department.

“I don’t believe this is a fair way to do business and it does nothing to build confidence in the process. I always said that we need to be using state buildings where we can. I still reckon that the existing buildings in Columb Barracks could be better utilised.

“We need to ensure that the number of people going into a town or village is proportionate. Clearly Mullingar can absorb a higher quantity of people than a village like Castletown Geoghegan.”