Government 'playing into the hands of people seeking to cause division and fear' - Clarke

The government's handling of the refugee accommodation crisis is “playing into the hands of people who are seeking to cause division and to cause fear in what is an incredibly serious situation,” a local TD has said.

Speaking after it was announced yesterday that 45 new modular homes are to be installed at Columb Barracks, Deputy Sorca Clarke criticised what she sees as the government's continual failure to communicate with communities.

The Sinn Féin TD added that “the inaction of government...has made a difficult situation near impossible.”

“We have seen them add additional countries onto safe country lists. The actions that they have taken have been little to none. And when it comes to local communities, the impact of their inaction is absolutely profound.”

Deputy Clarke said that while a number of constituents have raised the issue of immigration with her, “that does not mean that those people are talking about something in a horrendously derogatory way.”

“It is a topic of conversation. No more than that. It's something akin to the crisis in the health system. The inability to get a doctor's appointment is a topic of conversation.”

Asked if she agreed with Deputy Robert Troy's view that the existing buildings at the barracks should have been renovated to house people seeking asylum, instead of installing additional modular homes, Deputy Clarke said that “government TDs need to stop trying to pretend that they're not in government.”

“That barracks closed in 2012. There has been ample opportunity for both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to put a coherent plan in place for the betterment of the future of this town, neither of which have done so.

“The community rallied to pull together plans around Columb Barracks. But this government has been in place for almost five years and nothing has happened with that barracks.

“Micheál Martin, who is the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, told me in committee that his department has a responsibility to ensure the structural heritage of that site. There's been no evidence that that has happened.”