Planning application for IPAS centre in Ballyhaunis prompts heated County Council debate
A planning application has been submitted to Mayo County Council for new accommodation for protected persons at the Old Convent Accommodation Centre in Ballyhaunis.
The news prompted a heated exchange between councillors at the November meeting of Mayo County Council.
The application, submitted by Bridgestock Care Limited, seeks permission for the construction of two residential blocks containing 16 units, comprising a mix of two and three-bedroom homes.
Cllr Alma Gallagher stated that there has been no engagement with Government departments regarding the private application, and added that Mayo County Council had not visited the site for any pre-application inspections.
Cllr Gallagher stated she is exercising her right as a private citizen to object to the development, and as a councillor, she is also opposed to it.
She said, “Ballyhaunis cannot sustain another IPAS centre. I am a public representative who is born and reared in Ballyhaunis, and we cannot sustain this.”
Cllr Gallagher said Ballyhaunis already accommodates around 250 residents at an existing IPAS centre, and warned that local services such as schools, healthcare and transport are under strain.
She then asked public representatives who are “clinging onto this issue” to walk past Ballyhaunis Square when they are making videos for social media, appearing to call for an end to using the town as a political football.
Her comments followed a social media video posted by Aontú TD Paul Lawless about the proposed development.
“Please stop talking down the town where I come from, Ballyhaunis has a lot to offer,” she said.
Cllr Gallagher highlighted several recent investments in Ballyhaunis, including €70,000 for the refurbishment of the local playground and €150,000 for development works at the Old Courthouse, both of which were funded through the Community Recognition Fund, a grant that supports towns that have welcomed protected persons.
She highlighted the €5.5m redevelopment of the Old Convent School and the upcoming construction of 25 new social homes in the town.
Cllr Gallagher also referenced the new Primary Care Centre, which is due to open in early 2026, a detail she noted was omitted from Deputy Lawless’s video.
“In the narrative, please do not forget to tell people that the care centre will be opened in the first quarter of next year. Stop talking down the town of Ballyhaunis, we have a lot to offer,
“I will not have any Oireachtas member or any local representative here in this chamber talking down towns like Ballyhaunis.”
She told the meeting that Ballyhaunis has a long history of integration, welcoming its first IPAS applicants in 2001.
Cllr Gallagher added that the proposed development should not proceed, stating that the town needs to prioritise meeting the needs of all its residents, Irish or not, who already live in Ballyhaunis.
Cllr Deirdre Lawless said she supported Cllr Gallagher in opposing the proposed IPAS plans, but took issue with the reference to the social media video made by her Aontú colleague, Deputy Lawless.
“The video made from the square in the town was only highlighting what you yourself have highlighted. There are a lack of services in Ballyhaunis.”
“Ballyhaunis is an exceptional town, it has been very welcoming. [The video] was simply pointing out the services that have been neglected from the town.”
She added it was a shame to see Government party politicians claim that opposition parties are a part of the problem when they are trying to help resolve the issue.
Cllr Gallagher responded immediately to the comment and referenced an interview with Deputy Lawless that aired on Midwest Radio.
“I listened to an interview on Midwest Radio that highlighted that Ballyhaunis has not benefited at all from migration. We have a Community Recognition Fund there - Ballyhaunis has benefited. So, I would ask that accurate information go out to the public,
“We have experienced this throughout the county, where representatives, like Miley Cyrus on a wrecking ball, swing into communities and cause devastation with inaccurate information and cause hysteria in a town.”
She said it is then left to representatives like herself and others in the chamber to reach out to their community and set the record straight.
The debate in the chamber became heated as the discussion turned to national immigration policy and its impact on Mayo.
Cllr Gerry Murray reminded his colleagues that their words carried weight and that the topic of discussion concerned real people.
He warned about the real life consequences of spreading inflammatory rhetoric.
“There is a lot of irrational fear out there, we saw that manifest itself ten days ago in Drogheda when an IPAS centre was set on fire and, by chance, those people living there escaped.”
He reflected on Ireland’s longstanding approach to integration and inclusion.
“For the last 20 years, there has been a policy in this country where people who come into it, we ensure they have the means to achieve social and economic mobility so they can become creative and productive citizens,
“Do not marginalise or isolate people. All you are doing is sowing the seeds of social unrest that the next generation will have to deal with.”
While recognising that the immigration system is not working and needs to be better managed, Cllr Murray said, “remember, our words have consequences. We are in positions of leadership, we have to show and give leadership.”
The planning application by Bridgestock Care Limited will now go through the standard planning process, with members of the public able to make submissions up to December 4, before the council makes a decision.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.