Sir, - My home town is about to be used as a dumping ground by our Government. The decent nature of the people of Kildare town is being abused.
Our town cannot cope with the proposed number of asylum-seekers to be placed here. The Government claims it fears the creation of ghettos in Dublin. I wonder what a settlement of 1,000 ethnically different and unfamiliar asylum-seekers in a central site in a town already severely deficient in resources and infrastructure itself, is called.
The people of Kildare do not mind helping genuine "political refugees"; however, they resent their town being used as a processing centre for people who are in the main economic migrants. Our system should be overhauled immediately by our Government. If the Government needs to sit during the summer to introduce the relevant legislation for processing claims and executing deportations so be it.
Racism will be caused due to the frustration of the Irish taxpayers at our Government's inaction. While the Government continues to pursue "stop-gap" measures such as the one about to be imposed on Kildare the crisis will deepen.
I hope the Government might at this late stage acknowledge the views of the people of Kildare town and reconsider its decision.
I can assure the Government that if Kildare is still bearing the burden of their inadequacies and shortcomings at the next election, the people will let their opinions be known and exercise their democratic right like never before. - Yours, etc.,
Mark G. McStay, Friarstown, Kildare, Co. Kildare.