Shannon Key West Hotel in Rooskey suffered another violent attack, as the building is set to become an accommodation center for asylum seekers.
There has been a further fire attack this week on a hotel due to become an accommodation center for asylum seekers.
Monday night’s attack was the second in five weeks on the Shannon Key West Hotel in Rooskey, the home village of the late former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds on the border of counties Leitrim and Roscommon.
It was the third attack by racist suspects on an intended asylum seeker refuge, known in Ireland as direct provision centers. In November the Caiseal Mara Hotel, in Moville, Co. Donegal, which has a capacity of 100, was severely damaged in a fire.
Gardai are investigating if a fire-bomb was used in Monday’s attack on the hotel in Rooskey which is intended as an accommodation center for 82 asylum seekers.
The alarm was raised by three members of a security team and fire crews were brought to the scene, bringing the blaze quickly under control.
Garda Superintendent Kevin English told Newstalk radio that there was minimal damage, but he was concerned by the determination of the attackers.
He said, “These individuals were not deterred by the presence of security personnel. It is a concern that they showed this determination.”
Five of the 38 direct provision centers dotted around Ireland are oversubscribed with residents, while the majority of other centers are close to capacity.
The Shannon Key West hotel, which closed in 2011, is the subject of legal proceedings between a company that wants to develop it as a tourist hotel, and Co. Dublin-based businessman James Kiernan, the owner of the property.
The High Court was told last November that plans had been put in place under a third-party agreement with the Department of Justice for the hotel to be used as accommodation for asylum seekers from January 2019.
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