The residents of Saggart, Citywest, Rathcoole and adjacent areas today got a huge slap in the face. In very arrogant, dismissive behaviour by the Government, it issued a press statement and then the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy went out onto the plinth and said the State was purchasing the Citywest Hotel. This came with no notice to any of the local elected representatives, not least Deputies Shane Moynihan and Emer Higgins on the Government side. On 22 May last, it first came out in the media that the Government was considering this. Since then, I have put down five parliamentary questions. I asked the Minister what the plans were, whether he could outline them and whether there would be consultation. I even used the term "enhanced consultation" because consultation has not always been such. It is more about telling people what the Government has already done rather than giving people any kind of input. There were calls for the Minister to sit down with residents' groups and representative bodies from the Saggart and Citywest area to talk about the plans. Citywest is not just another location for a permanent IPAS centre. It was the largest hotel and conference centre in Europe. It was the home for many years of the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheiseanna. Because of ramshackle rezoning over the years, it was one of the few community facilities in the wider Rathcoole and Saggart area. When I was a councillor, going back to the start of the development plan in 2016, when the owners were looking at getting the land rezoned for large-scale residential, the residents spoke very eloquently and in large numbers about the need to protect the site. Going back to 2015, around its National Asset Management Agency period, the hotel and conference centre was operating as a profitable concern. It then turned into a Covid centre, then became a temporary location for Ukrainian refugees and then moved on to hosting IPAS. The community has been quite balanced in pointing out the pluses and minuses. There have been instances of antisocial behaviour because if you put 2,000 people anywhere, that will be the case. It also has been the case that some of the residents have helped in Tidy Towns and other community events. The reality, however, is that this is not a built-for-purpose centre. It is a hotel and conference centre. There is a gym and leisure centre in operation. I note that the Minister said that some things would be allowed to continue. Why could he not have met the residents and gone through all of the issues in advance? That was a fair question and it was not listened to. This was presented as a fait accompli, a big slap in the face. Saggart is one of the fastest growing and youngest areas in the country. Approximately a third of all residents of Saggart are under the age of 15. Another third of Saggart residents were not born in Saggart, which points out that Saggart is a very welcoming and diverse community. However, it does not have the facilities. There are no public areas in the Saggart, Citywest and Rathcoole locations where they can put in a lot of council amenities. Adjacent lands have been rezoned under the strategic housing developments. There have been lots of new houses but no facilities. The chance the community had of this hotel being repurposed once again for community need now appears to be gone, unless there is proper engagement and consultation now that the Government is going ahead with this plan.

Sentiment score: 0.06

Regarding the State's requirement to have a number of large-scale IPAS centres, I see the logic of the State trying to buy somewhere rather than pay rent. I believe, however, that such centres need to be purpose-built rather than trying to call a former hotel a suitable campus. I mentioned this to the Taoiseach before. Obviously, we are a welcoming country and many people are fleeing persecution and need our support. Equally, as I pointed out, there are economic migrants abusing the asylum process and these people need to be processed very quickly. Unfortunately, it is taking far too long. If it was not taking so long, we would not need so many IPAS centres. It should take six months for people to be in and out of the process and for a decision to be made that they are welcome because they are fleeing persecution or - and they might be the nicest people in the world - told "sorry, we do not have the capacity". This is what we are requiring. In terms of this specific location, I am a bit worried about some of the words used, such as there being "no immediate plans to increase the capacity of this site". Reading through that after today's announcement is like hearing it will be increased down the line. There are also issues concerning the "good relationships and operational partnerships in the community". Yes, there have been very good relationships, but there have also been issues of overcrowding in the past and reports of incidents of antisocial behaviour. Saggart does not have sufficient GP services or proper Garda services. In any type of consultation, the first things to be asked include what GP levels, education facilities, types of support and leisure activities are being planned to be on site. All these things should be considered in the discussion before any purchase goes through. While there are no current plans to get rid of the leisure centre and the gym, equally, there is no opportunity for a long-term vision to repurpose this as a major hotel and conference centre again, something that was very valuable to south-west Dublin in the past and I believe should be once again.

Sentiment score: 0.16