Greystones offers to take athletes unsure of stay in Clonmel

Greystones, Co Wicklow, has offered to host Special Olympics athletes from Hong Kong following uncertainty over whether they will be accepted by Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

Town councillors in Clonmel voted not to accept 60 athletes from the SARS-affected country, whom they were due to host. However, a final decision on the matter will not be taken until next week.

The Health Minister, Mr Martin, and the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, yesterday expressed regret at the "premature" decision, and said they hoped other towns would not follow suit.

Ms Evelyn Cawley, of the Greystones Host Town Committee, which is already preparing for 40 Croatian participants, said they would be delighted to accept Hong Kong athletes in order to ensure they could experience the games.

"I feel the games are so special that it would be a huge disappointment if they weren't able to travel here. We're well geared up for the event and we could easily take extra athletes if they can't find a home anywhere else," Ms Cawley said.

The organisers of the Special Olympics, however, are optimistic that its own proposals to quarantine athletes from the countries worst affected by SARS will help quell health fears among host towns.

Teams from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Canada have accepted the precautions which would see them quarantined for 10 to 14 days before travelling to Ireland. They represent 300 out of the 7,000 athletes overall.

Host town committees in Bray, Clonmel, Arklow, Portlaoise and Enniscorthy, which are due to host the teams, say they will not make official decisions on whether to admit the teams in advance of expert opinion from the World Health Organisation and the Department of Health next week.

However, a spokesman for the Special Olympics said he was optimistic their precautions would dispel worry among residents in the host towns.

"Hopefully, people will feel reassured about the proactive measures we've taken, and they can continue to enjoy the games as expected," the spokesman said.

Mr Pat Vance, chairman of the Bray Host Town Committee, which is due to host 118 athletes, said residents were concerned at the health threat, but would be deeply disappointed if the planned preparations were disrupted.

"People are concerned about it, but it's not at the stage where people are deeply worried over it. They believe the stance taken by the host town committee and town council to wait for the recommendations of the department's expert group is the sensible one."

Mr Leonard Murphy, chairman of the Arklow Host Town Committee, which is preparing to host 60 athletes from Singapore, said preparations were continuing as normal.

The decision by Clonmel Borough Council not to accept the Hong Kong athletes under "present circumstances" on Tuesday night followed mounting local concern over the health threat, according to alderman Mr Niall Dennehy.

All seven council members who voted in favour of the motion were aware of the quarantine measures announced by the Special Olympics organising committee on the same night.

Mr Martin last night said that while he understood the fear and anxiety over the SARS threat, he said the decision was "jumping the gun somewhat".