Roscommon TD Eugene Murphy condemns suspected arson on Rooskey hotel

Fianna Fáil TD for Roscommon/Galway Eugene Murphy has outrightly condemned the suspected arson attack on the former Shannon Key West in Roosky which saw a fire break out in the building last night.

“If in fact it proves to be the case that the fire was started deliberately then I would condemn such action out of hand. It is not representative of the Roosky area and people are outraged,” said Deputy Murphy.

“I understand that Gardaí are examining the scene of a fire at a former hotel which had been due to open as an accommodation centre for asylum seekers. I understand that a security man was in the premises when the fire broke out so there could have been a potential loss of life which is extremely serious,” said Deputy Murphy.

The Fianna Fáil TD went on to say however that the Government’s attitude to the people of Roosky had been nothing short of scandalous.

“The Shannonside village of Roosky is particularly close to my heart as I have lived close to the Roscommon side of the village all of my life and I acutely aware of how removed the people of the area feel from this whole process. I had been given a commitment that the Department would meet with the people of Roosky in relation to this issue just as they met with people in Moville in Co Donegal but then the Department backed down- there has been an extremely poor process of consultation and engagement with the community in Roosky. We cannot continue to operate the present system of direct provision and dealing with asylum seekers by railroading them into small rural villages around the country where there is simply no proper infrastructure in place to meet their needs.

“The Government’s approach of pushing refugees and asylum seekers into small towns around rural Ireland is simply not working- many of these small rural towns are already on their knees and the necessary infrastructure from a transport, educational and health aspect are just not in place and the Government needs to take responsibility for the lack of judgement in relation to this whole approach,” said Deputy Murphy.

“Everybody was hopeful that the former Shannon Key West hotel in Roosky would have been opened as a commercial hotel as it would have provided a much needed injection of hope and been a significant vote of confidence in the area,” concluded Deputy Murphy