Louth councillors lock horns over D Hotel and fuel protests motion
A fire at the Glenside Hotel has highlighted a crisis in hotel facilities in Drogheda, councillors were told at this week’s Borough Council meeting.
The issue was raised during a heated discussion on the renewal of a contract to use the D Hotel in Drogheda as an International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre for a further year, which formed part of an emergency motion brought by Mayor Michelle Hall.
The motion effectively called for a “no confidence” vote in the current government for the “disservice to Drogheda” following the D Hotel decision, the omission of Drogheda schools from the DEIS+ programme and cuts to funding for active travel cycling infrastructure.
The Mayor also blamed “lack of planning for future events” which she said led to the nationwide fuel protests over the last week.
She added that despite calls for the Minister for Justice to meet with Drogheda councillors about the future of the D Hotel, there was a “total lack of engagement.”
Cllr. Anne Marie Ford said she had been following news of the major fire at the Glenside Hotel throughout that day, and agreed that Drogheda is “now desperately lacking a hotel in our town with this very sad news.”
Cllr. Paddy McQuillan added that “millions and millions of euro has been wasted” by the government at the D Hotel, and called for the government to listen to the elected representatives and the people of Drogheda.
However, Mayor Hall’s emergency motion failed to gain sufficient support from councillors to be taken for discussion. It was followed by two counter-motions proposed by Cllr. James Byrne and Cllr. Ejiro O’Hare Stratton.
A roll-call vote saw only Cllr. Byrne’s motion approved to be heard by the chamber.
In his motion, the Fianna Fáil councillor called on the government to “commit to ending the contract with the owners of the D Hotel as an IPAS dispersal centre when the twelve months are up, allowing it to once again function as a hotel.”
He also urged a review of the decision to omit Drogheda schools from the DEIS+ programme.
Addressing the fuel protests, Cllr. Byrne said the government should “keep the reduction in excise duties under review if the temporary ceasefire in Iran doesn’t hold and if prices remain unaffordable, to provide further supports to the public if necessary.”
Despite a lengthy discussion, Cllr. Byrne’s motion ultimately fell after it failed to secure sufficient support from councillors.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr. Byrne criticised what he described as “a political stunt” by the Mayor, arguing that the emergency motion did not meet the required threshold.
“It wasn’t an emergency in my view and should not have been given precedence to the planned agenda for the meeting,” he said.
“We aren’t Dáil Éireann. A no-confidence motion in the government is for TDs to consider, not councillors from Drogheda.”