The Minister for Integation has expressed surprise at comments from the Garda Commissioner that gardaí were not officially notified in advance of a plan to accommodate 70 asylum seekers in a Co Galway hotel.
Roderic O’Gorman said a briefing proposal was emailed to the Garda on Friday afternoon on the plan to use the disused hotel in Rosscahill to house the international protection applicants.
The proposal triggered a protest and blockade by locals on Saturday and later that night the property was badly damaged in a suspected arson attack.
On Tuesday, Commissioner Drew Harris told a meeting of the Policing Authority in Dublin that gardaí had not received official notification about the accommodation plan and had to rely on local sources to find out what was proposed.
However, Mr O’Gorman has insisted established protocols for informing the gardaí were followed.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said while gardaí were notified it appeared the information had not been passed on to the “right people on the ground”. Mr Varadkar suggested more of a “belt and braces” approach to communicating such plans may be required.
Mr O’Gorman told the PA news agency that when any new international protection accommodation is opened a community engagement team takes responsibility for informing TDs, senators, councillors and statutory agencies, including the HSE, Tusla, a named contact in An Garda Siochana, the Department of Justice and the Department of Education.
“So a briefing on the proposal to open the hotel in Galway was sent to An Garda Siochana on Friday afternoon,” he said.
Asked if the process needed to be strengthened, he said: “Well, look, we’re always happy to look at a process and improve a process where that’s needed.
“This is the process we’ve been using now for about four months. The community engagement team started working at the end of August, early September.
“It is the process that supported the opening of a significant number of accommodation centres in that time.
“It was my understanding, certainly, that was the agreed protocol that operates.
“Now, obviously, as a situation evolves there may need to be further engagement but in terms of the protocol that was agreed, our officials carried it out as agreed.
“So I was surprised to see that communication (that gardai weren’t informed) last night and this morning and, you know, we spent this morning just trying to clarify exactly what happens.
“And I know we’ve been engaging with the gardaí in terms of just confirming that the notification was provided.”
Commenting on the issue, Mr Varadkar told reporters in Dublin: “I think it’s important that the gardai are notified any time we establish a new accommodation centre.
“In relation to Galway, Minister O’Gorman has confirmed that the gardaí were informed in writing but, for whatever reason that message didn’t get through to all of the right people on the ground.
“So we’re going to have to review that now and perhaps adopt a belt and braces approach where it’s not just an email or a letter, but there’s an email, letter and a phone call.
“You know sometimes that just has to be done, but I can confirm that the gardaí were informed in writing.”
