The people of Ireland are up in arms and it isn’t the English occupiers that are getting their goat. A county councilor was among a group of about 40 people who protested at the weekend outside a reception centre for asylum seekers in Co Kerry.

The demonstration outside Linden House in Killarney, a former guesthouse which has previously hosted asylum seekers, followed the arrival of the first of the 55 men who are to be housed there. The group’s placards highlighted the 3,000 homeless children in Ireland and stated that local people should be housed first.

Cllr Donal Grady (Independent) addressed the gathering at the gates of the property and also handed in a petition explaining the protesters’ concerns.

“We have no knowledge of the vetting procedures these people have been through and they are being housed across the road from a local school. The town had a large number of homeless and they should be looked after first,” he added. Protesters also noted that some of the asylum seekers, who arrived on Friday, had iPhones and smoked while other protestors objected to State funds being used to pay for their accommodation.

“It’s not healthy having 55 men with nothing to do all day,” a protester said.

Three of the men who have arrived at Linden House spoke briefly to the media. Others remained inside but opened the door to accept the letter of protest.

A 25-year-old Albanian male told a journalist that he had been in Ireland for four years and was waiting for his residency application to be processed. Why is a working-age male from Albania, a European country that hasn’t been in conflict since WWII, getting a refugee status pass?

He says, “The accommodation in Killarney was very good. Give me work and I don’t stay here.”

A 48-year-old Punjabi says he is in Ireland because of the war in Punjab. The war in Punjab occurred 1820 – 1822. Claiming to be seeing asylum he says he has been in Ireland for two months.

Mr. Donal Grady, who organised the protest, says they would continue. He has previously called for the privately owned Linden House to be leased by Kerry County Council and used to house local homeless people. He said Killarney already hosted 120 asylum seekers in two State-owned properties.

“We have people coming in and we don’t know the first thing about them. Killarney has its own problems. I can pick out 40 people in this town who won’t have any warmth tonight,” he said.

The Department of Justice said it was expected that those arriving in Killarney will be from different countries.

“There has been an increase in applications for international protection in Ireland. The latest figures suggest that 2,620 persons applied for international protection this year, compared with 1,982 in the same period last year.”

Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae said he had been inundated with calls from locals concerned about pressure on housing lists and about the proximity of the centre to local primary schools.

Europe Arise: Europe in Flames Cause and Solution by Michael Walsh

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