A Kerry councillor is accusing the state’s Community Engagement Team of a critical lack of communication with them over the arrival of international protection applicants and refugees.
The Community Engagement Team was established to help state bodies communicate with communities ahead of the arrival of international protection applicants and refugees.
Labour councillor Marie Moloney says the only engagement that elected representatives in Killarney had from the CET prior to the recent arrival of 70 international protection applicants in Killarney, was to tell them people were arriving.
Cllr Moloney says she wrote to the CET to ask them further questions about services, and was told there would be a migrant health team to assist people with accessing healthcare.
The Killarney councillor says there has been no clarity on who this team is or where they are, and she’s also concerned about the impact of the potential arrival of 100 more Ukrainian refugees on GP services.
The Labour councillor also denied being out of step with her party on providing accommodation to migrants.
Labour TD Aodhán Ó Riordáin was involved in a heated exchange with Kerry Independent TDs Michael and Danny Healy-Rae earlier this week in the Dáil on the issue of migration.
Cllr Moloney says she’s concerned about the services, not the people.
