Taoiseach Must Ensure Government Honour Borrisokane IPA Agreement From 2019
- Public Meeting Hears Locals Won’t Tolerate Evictions
Labour Deputy Alan Kelly has called on the Taoiseach to honour the Borrisokane IPA Agreement from 2019.
Deputy Kelly said:
“At a public meeting on Friday night (June 14th) we were told that the Department of Justice made an agreement with the people of Borrisokane in November 2019 to ensure the smooth integration of international protection applicants into the town in the Riverside Centre. It was a tense time in the country and the people of Borrisokane became exemplary as to how to handle new arrivals.
“Now 5 years later as many of these families have got status they are being evicted from their apartments in the town. Where will they go?
“This is despite the fact that the Government made an agreement with the people of Borrisokane in 2019 that said they would welcome the residents using HAP to stay in their apartments. Now the owners of the Government are moving them on because they are refusing to with the apartment owners to take HAP payments in favour of putting in more IPAs in these apartments.
“Bottom line is that this is all about greed. This is the commercialisation of human beings looking for protection. It is being facilitated by the government and it is disgusting.
“There are 20 families affected. 27 children are currently in primary school in the town, 10 are in secondary school in the town and 11 have moved on to various third level courses.
“The families are totally involved in the community; Sobello is a coach with the underage soccer team and he also set up the community garden in the local town park where local people can grow their own vegetables; Guillema is a volunteer with the Alone charity while Ase was just recently part of the u13 Borrisokane GAA team that won the North Tipperary championship. The recent African day in the town was a great success.
“Many in the community who had concerns in 2019 are now the very people who are fighting to keep the new residents in the community.
“The Taoiseach needs to show that a compromise can be found whereby he and Minister O’Gorman works with the owners of this property which they have contracts with to allow the residents use HAP to stay in the local community.
“What use is the Government’s word and IPAS’s word if when a community positively engages with them like Borrisokane did and welcomes asylum seekers that they then turn around and totally let them down.
“Minister O’Gorman’s Department has the word ‘Integration’ in its title. It needs to demonstrate its commitment to this role by doing whats right in Borrisokane.
“There is a very disgusting precedent being set in what is happening in Borrisokane and the Taoiseach needs to intervene to prevent it happening
“I can assure him the people of Borrisokane will stand up for their new residents if he doesn’t.”
ENDS
Deputy Kelly speaking in the Dáil on this issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AZYkADsrZw