Modular housing being installed for IP applicants in Coole

Modular housing pods for people seeking international protection (IP) are being installed in the village of Coole.

The pods are being constructed on a site adjacent to the Coole Court development, which has been home to 90 IP applicants for almost six months.

After the news broke last autumn that IP applicants were to be housed in Coole Court, there were protests outside the development for a number of weeks, and some locals voiced concerns that the village did not have infrastructure to cope with such a large and sudden population increase.

Video and photographic footage posted recently posted on social media showed that construction work had started on a plot of land next to the development.

When contacted by the Westmeath Examiner last week, the Department of Integration said that it “can only confirm use of a premises if a contract has been signed”.

However, Deputy Robert Troy says that he has received confirmation from the developer of Coole Court, Peter O’Connor, that he is installing 17 modular pods that will be used to house families seeking International Protection.

Deputy Troy said that prior to talking to Mr O’Connor, he had contacted the department’s community engagement team and was told that there were no plans for more IP applicants to be housed in the village.

While stating that he believed the open manner in which Mr O’Connor has engaged with the local community is a model that should be followed by other developers of housing for IP applicants, Deputy Troy says that it “beggars belief” that the department’s community engagement team were not aware that an agreement had been reached to accommodate more people in Coole.

The people currently being housed in Coole Court have been welcomed by the majority of locals, Deputy Troy says, and it is important the community is kept informed about any new developments.

“I think it is fair to say that some of the initial fears expressed in relation to Coole Court have proved unfounded. The people who moved in have settled in well and there have been no issues.

“The fear of the unknown is the difficulty, not the unknown. That being said, I do believe that when we are moving people in to a community, it has to be proportionate to the size of the community.”

Ireland is to join the EU’s new migration pact, which aims to speed up the asylum application process.

Deputy Troy says that while the asylum system has to be streamlined to ensure that it is “not being exploited” by people who, in reality, are economic migrants, the government also needs to sign up to the EU’s Visa Information System (VIS), which allows states to share data on visa applicants.

“There is no point signing up to the pact without putting the necessary tools in place to ensure that we can implement policies robustly.”