Gardai are treating as suspicious a fire at a Co Tipperary hotel in which it is proposed to place 30 asylum-seekers.
The fire broke out early yesterday morning in the Vee Valley Hotel in Clogheen. Villagers there last night voted to place a picket on the hotel after they were told that it would be used to accommodate the asylum-seekers.
A vote taken at the end of a public meeting gave a committee of local people opposed to the asylum-seeker move a mandate to negotiate that not more than 10 asylum-seekers be placed in the village.
Mr Dick Keating, chairman of the committee, said it dissociated itself from a protest outside the hotel. He offered an apology for fire damage caused to the hotel.
It is reported that the linen room in the hotel was damaged in the fire but most rooms in which asylum-seekers will be housed remain in good condition.
The public meeting, which was organised by the Central Directorate of Asylum Support Services, was attended by over 400 people. Mr Pat Wyley, of the directorate, said the contract with the hotel owners for the relocation of refugees had been sent to Dublin. However, he said: "If he [the owner of the hotel] tells me it is not habitable I am duty-bound not to put people in there."
A local man, Mr Michael Moroney, said Clogheen was being offered the opportunity to take people in who were in dire need. "We welcome foreigners and depend on them for tourism but we object to the imposition of them without any services to assist us."
A local woman, Ms Rita Kiely, said the people of Clogheen deserved a written report to show the refugees had no past crime records. Mr Wyley said the directorate did its best to ensure that it had the best information on asylum-seekers.
A publican, Mr Donal Maher, said over the last week there had been arguments in his pub about the relocation. He could not stop refugees entering his premises and this could lead to chaos.
Meanwhile, Mr Noel Grey, who has been protesting outside the hotel, said he was not prepared to welcome refugees. "They are just thrown on our doorstep. We don't know their history."