Plans have been dropped to move 80 asylum seekers into a disused hotel in Rooskey, Co. Leitrim.
It’s because of a legal dispute that’s come up between the owners and the company renting it.
The Shannon Key West Hotel had been earmarked by the government as an accommodation centre for 80 asylum seekers.
Those plans have faced some opposition by locals and the hotel’s been targeted by two fires in the last couple of months.
Now – the Department of Justice has announced it’s scrapping the idea.
They say it’s nothing to do with the fires – but is because of difficulties over the lease agreement between the company renting the hotel, who wanted to turn it into a tourist spot, and the owners.
That’s local Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice.
Efforts are now underway to find alternative accommodation for the asylum seekers.
Nick Henderson is CEO of the Irish Refugee Council – he says private contractors have been relied on for too long:
The department says a regional procurement process is underway to find a place for the asylum seekers to go.
