Over 200 people have attended a protest in Lismore against the opening of a Direct Provision centre for up to 117 asylum seekers in a hotel premises | More: bit.ly/3WOgmfF

30 comments

  3. “We’re a heritage town”. The presumption seems to run deep in some that they should not have asylum seekers in buildings left over from the colonial era. Fine big castle in Lismore. Lots of room.

    EDIT: Now they’re getting twitchy. Hit a nerve obviously.

  4. Actually here’s a thought: how about all the castles and stately homes and left over religious buildings. Birr? Emo? Maynooth College? Any others?

    EDIT: They’re twitching.

  6. It’s a funny one. This is not even a worry about young males etc. These would be families and female refugees. And sure the place might not be suitable, and there might be more suitable options elsewhere in the town, and there should have been more local consultation. But perfect is the enemy of good. Compared to homelessness this place is a hell of a lot better for all its faults and the govt is ready to go. So I can’t help but feel that it’s a bit shameful that 300 people would feel that strongly about it to go out and protest..and I hope they cop on in the end.

  7. How many are Lismore ppl and how many are imported troublemakers?

    The hotel was moribund for years, refitted for the 2023 tourism season and now that’s all for naught.
    The owners will get their money presumably but the town of Lismore isn’t going to bloom again as long as they are hosting refugees in a spot which is rather isolated.

    It shows what a raging fuck up the policy is when you end up dropping outsiders who will need supports into what’s basically a big village 20 miles from Dungarvan.

  11. Lismore locals shouldn’t kid themselves. Their town may be prettier than most but like many small towns it’s slowly dying. It’s full of shabby, mucky buildings, which have been lying empty for years. At least the direct provision centre ensures that one of those buildings is actually put to use, and isn’t contributing to the dereliction blight impacting the rest of the town.

  13. I don’t know wtf is wrong with people at the moment

    https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0urwthmwHxGUQCj6dBTg4FCML6A3CENTUKMdqjGDcVT4PDKTwRrPHYLm2iAL9Ga36l&id=1044590618894532

    That’s the story of that camp with the homeless guys who lost their jobs being attacked by men and dogs. Most of the commenters, women with kids etc, are delighted they attacked them.
    There were muppets protesting in Artane tonight where I’m from over rumours of migrants being moved into where the Stardust used to be, I doubt very much any of them were from Artane. Sad to see this stuff happening and ashamed.

  14. Won’t be popular but let’s be realistic. The owners spent money refitting the hotel for what was probably going to be a 2 to 3 month period of use every year during tourist season. This wasn’t going to provide any real boost in local employment as work would be seasonal, wasn’t going to draw thousands more tourists to the town and wasn’t going to give that much of a boost to local economy. The hotels been closed for 6 or 7 years at this point so it’s not like its going to have a negative effect on numbers visiting the town either.

  15. Hotel owners in small towns around Ireland rubbing their grubby hands together at the thought of getting picked as a direct provision centre. They only really got much tourism during the summer but it’s full occupancy all the time with asylum seekers.

    That building should never have been allowed be left idle for years. The owner should have been taxed to fuck until he sold at market rate to the government to be turned into apartments. Sick of hearing about the government’s international commitments and obligations. Where’s their commitment to the citizens of this country?

  16. Sad to say, but Ireland needs to stop allowing so many asylum seekers in. There is a growing mass of people against it. Saying ‘those people are ignorant and evil’ is not an option, we have to put the foot on the brake.

  17. So when Lismore people protest its basically ok , very little kickback, but when folks in poorer parts of Dublin do it they are racist?

    A lot of hypocritical arseholes on here.

  18. Rural Ireland for years: We need more people to combat depopulation to urban areas.

    Rural Ireland in 2023: No, not those people.

  20. Get cross at the inept government, get cross at the rapacious hotel owners. But adding to the trauma of relocated people is a small mean thing.

  21. The far right element in Ireland is on the rise.

    Now that small country towns dont have the veneer of the Catholic Church to excuse hateful behaviour against those less fortunate, they have discovered the ‘community’.

    If it was bus loads of americans under some resettlement program to rediscover their roots they would have the flags out and the didly didle music blaring.

    Because they are the wrong colour its like the sky is falling in.

  22. McGettigans Hotel in the centre of Letterkenny got 3.7million for hosting Ukrainians. The money is mental and the hotel is a lot easier run.

  23. Maybe the gov could speed up processing applications so people don’t have to live in these hellholes for ten years. Wouldn’t need as many centres if you didn’t let them rot.

  24. This is so sad. It takes great personal risk and inevitable loss to try and find shelter in another country when you’re own is chaotic and dangerous. You’d have to be a sociopath to fall into the far right anti immigration tropes…. This is just prejudice and racism, end of.

  25. Ah yes, irish people known for their charitable sensibilities…….until it comes to actually sharing space with those less fortunate.

    An empty hotel in an near empty village brings out 200 people.

    The filthy International alt right has its grubby fingers all over ireland. The dumb are rising, let’s not give an equal platform to stupid people and their feelings.

    Let the Facebook fanatics march, they will continue to be ridiculed.

  30. There’s entire streets in Lismore that consist mainly of holiday homes. The road from Dublin would be chock-a-block if there was mention of using them for asylum seekers.

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