The Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan has called on the people of Oughterard to take a step back following growing concerns of the housing of an unknown number of undocumented migrants in the region.
Speaking in Galway on Monday, the Justice Minister said that events in the region in recent days were a matter of real regret and urged residents to allow the process for selecting Direct Provision Centres to take place.
Although Flanagan said that no decision has been made whether or not a provision centre would be placed in the region, he reiterated that the Government is looking at a number of limited options to house at least 1,300 migrants currently living in emergency accommodation.
The Minister for Justice also said that Ireland must be mindful to holding up its obligations to help those fleeing persecution, even though the public were never consulted on the matter.
He added that there is a need to build more Direct Provision Centres and he doesn’t want migrants to be sleeping rough.
Minister Flanagan’s comments come after protests were held in Oughterard last weekend over concerns that a Direct Provision Centre will be built at the site of a former hotel in the region.
The good people of Galway have stated that there isn’t enough resources in the region to cater for a direct provision centre for an unknown number of undocumented migrants.
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