No decision yet on the future of Waterford reception and orientation centre

The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has said that a decision is yet to be made on the Reception and Orientation Centre in Clonea.

In a letter to councillors in the Dungarvan-Lismore district, the minister’s private secretary wrote that a tender process was now complete, and a decision would be issued “in due course”.

The letter was in response to a query raised by Councillor Damien Geoghegan at the monthly meeting of the Dungarvan-Lismore District Council last July.

Cllr Geoghegan asked that the district council write to the Minister for Justice to ask what their future plans are for the Clonea Strand Hotel.

The matter was raised again at the September meeting.

Cllr Joe O’Riordan objected to the request, calling it an “incredibly dangerous question”, given how conversations around asylum seeker and refugee accommodation are “weaponised”.

Cllr Geoghegan had said he was only asking about the future plans and was not criticising the centre.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.