Killarney will have to face the reality of whether it will continue as a major tourist hub or become a direct supply and refugee hub due to the number of tourist accommodations now, a council meeting was told.
With a population of 10,360, Killarney is now home to 3,200 refugees and asylum seekers, the Killarney Town Meeting was told.
It emerged from the meeting that the goodwill that had previously existed in Killarney towards the refugees was no longer there due to looming numbers and pressure on health, education and other services, as well as fears about the future of the refugee community, main industry of the city: tourism.
Is Killarney next March going to be a major tourist destination or a direct provision centre? Big accommodation providers in Killarney are going to have to be asked that question,” Independent councillor and former mayor of Killarney Brendan Cronin said, reports RTE.
He wondered what the “the prediction” was for refugees in March and April and whether hotels and boarding houses would “push” them out.
His comments were backed by former Labor senator and councilor Marie Moloney, who said businessmen who bring Ukrainians to a city with no services for them “should be questioned”.
These entrepreneurs were doing the same job as the rest of the city, but they were destroying tourism, she said.
“The fact is they [GPs] just don’t have room. The schools don’t have room,” she said, reports RTE.
Councilors were getting “earfuls” from the public and the goodwill that was in Killarney in March and April has changed, she said.
Cllr Maura Healy-Rae said it was nearly impossible to find tourist accommodation in Killarney on weekends.
“This is affecting our municipal district more than any other area,” she said, reports RTE.
Killarney Mayor Cllr Niall Kelleher praised the meeting’s “dignified and reasonable” discussion.
KASI, the long-standing organization to help asylum seekers and refugees, was overwhelmed and “at a tipping point” because of the numbers, the mayor said.
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