The government approved the State purchase of Citywest Hotel and Convention Centre as an international protection accommodation for €148.2m
Government approves the purchase of Citywest Hotel for €148.2m
The Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan announced that the Cabinet approved the State purchase of Citywest Hotel and Convention Centre as an international protection accommodation for €148.2m.
Minister O’Callaghan’s announcement came on Tuesday, June 17, following months of negotiations and weeks of discontent among the local Citywest community.
“We are very disappointed,” said the Saggart Village Residents Association in a message online after the announcement.
“There was no indication that the decision was going to be made this quickly and that it happened without any community engagement is very disappointing. Value for money is just one aspect of such a decision, the loss of the Hotel & Convention Centre, and the permanent addition of an IPAS centre is a significant impact on a village that was already under pressure.”
The site, which has been used to accommodate Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers coming from other countries since 2022, has the capacity to accommodate “approximately 2,300 people,” according to the Department of Justice.
The State has been leasing the site since 2020, when it was first used to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In his announcement, the Minister highlighted that owning it rather than leasing it will provide great “value for money” and long-term saving for the state.
“In a sector that has seen extremely high costs in recent times, purchasing Citywest makes prudent financial sense for the State compared to costs of leasing the site. The purchase represents a payback period to the State of approximately 4 years, and over 25 years, the purchase and operating cost model offer savings of more than €1billion, while delivering a permanent State asset.
“I am committed to reforming Ireland’s international protection system to ensure its efficiency and robustness. A stable and sustainable accommodation network is a central element of that reform. My goal is to improve processing systems so that people can receive a decision quickly and fairly, curtailing the need for constant growth in our accommodation system. Purchasing Citywest is a hugely significant step towards achieving this.”
The purchase, he explained, is a key part of the Government’s strategy to develop a system away from commercial properties to State-owned centres and will also enable Ireland to meet requirements under the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.
Following the purchase, the Department will initiate a transition plan with the current service provider for a period of 12 months to ensure there is no disruption to the accommodation services at the site.
The service provider will continue to oversee the management and provision of services including catering, cleaning, maintenance and security, resident check in, operational support, finance and other services.
The Saggart and surroundings’ residents will keep calling for more information on the impact that the purchase will have.
“We will be requesting information on how this decision was made, what factors went into it, why the community were not consulted, whether any impact assessment was done, and what mitigations they will put in place to minimise the impact on the community,” said the Saggart Village Residents’ Association.
During Tuesday’s announcement, Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy TD said, “The purchase of this site comes with a strong commitment to engagement with the local community. (…) The Department wants to support amenities, local services and integration in the area.
“The Department is also in ongoing discussions to ensure the leisure centre on the site remains open to the public following the purchase.”
The Department of Justice also ensured that there are no immediate plans to increase the accommodation capacity as part of the purchase.
The group ‘Stop Government purchase of Citywest Hotel’ was also formed in the last few weeks and collected over 3,000 signatures.
“We are very disappointed. Saggart and the wider community have been abandoned, and we have been failed by our TDs,” said Bernie Cronin from the group following the announcement.
The group are going to hold another protest in Saggart village on Tuesday, June 17, starting at 6.30pm at Jacob’s Bar.
