The only person to blame for the fire at a former Galway hotel over the weekend is the person that ‘set a match to the building’, the Justice Minister has said.

Gardaí yesterday confirmed that they are investigating a ‘criminal damage incident’ after a fire broke out at the former Ross Lake House in Rosscahill in County Galway.

The hotel had been selected to house 70 asylum seekers and protesters had gathered at the building on Saturday afternoon.

Minister McEntee said the alleged arson was “absolutely disgraceful” adding that it has a “really sinister side” to it.

"Criminal act"

She said a criminal act like arson should not be conflated with the peaceful protests at the hotel earlier in the day.

“The scenes that we saw last Saturday night, early Sunday morning, they were absolutely disgraceful and I think had a really sinister side to them,” she said.

“This was a criminal act, this was arson, this was damage to a private property and there are very strong penalties for these.

“Gardaí are conducting investigations at the moment and I really would urge absolutely anybody from the locality or further afield that has any information to please come forward.

“This was a peaceful protest Gardaí were monitoring on the scene throughout the weekend.

“What escalated though was not a peaceful protest and we have to separate the two very clearly.

“This was arson, this was criminal damage, this was extremely disturbing to see this type of escalation from what started as a very peaceful protest.”

Fire engulfs Ross Lake House in Rosscahill, County Galway.

Protesters have accused Government of failing to engage with communities before opening asylum seeker centres – but Minister McEntee said Government cannot be blamed for the attack.

“There is absolutely no justification for what happened,” she said.

“To blame Government, to blame anybody other than the person who set a match to that building is wrong.

“There is absolutely no justification here.”

"I don't accept that Ireland is full"

She said the Government is facing “huge pressures in accommodation” – and noted that Ireland has a responsibility to support people who are fleeing from war, persecution and famine.

“I don't agree with the sentiment that Ireland is full,” she said.

“We had 16,000 or 15,000 applications for international protection last year – that amounts to about 0.02% of our overall population.

“We have an obligation to make sure that if people come to this country, that they're seeking protection because they're fleeing war, because they're fleeing famine, because they're fleeing persecution, that we accept their application, we turn it around as quickly as possible and if they are entitled to that support, that we provide it to them and if they're not, that we obviously make sure that people leave where they [do not require] that type of protection.

“I don't accept that Ireland is full.

“There has been a mass movement of people across the globe in recent years and Ireland is experiencing an increase no different to any other country and I think we will continue to respond in the most compassionate way that we possibly can.”

"To blame Government, to blame anybody other than the person who set a match to that building, is wrong." The Justice Minister reacts to the suspected arson attack on a Galway hotel earmarked for asylum seekers. pic.twitter.com/PBJu0cFwcC

— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) December 18, 2023

Citizenship

Minister McEntee was speaking at the first of several ceremonies that will see 6,000 people granted Irish citizenship in the coming days.

She said people need to remember that migrants have a “hugely positive impact” on Irish society.

“There's a huge amount of mistruths that have been put out there to suggest that people who are coming seeking international protection are more likely to commit crimes,” she said.

“It's simply not true, it's not based on fact and this type of information is what scares people.

“We need to make sure that we're very clear that as a country we are welcoming to those who need our protection, we are welcoming to those who want to seek a better life for themselves and their families and of course, those who don't have an entitlement to be here, that they don't remain here.

“But overall, we need to separate. What happened on Saturday night was arson, it was criminal damage, it was nothing more and there's never any justification [for it].”

Yesterday, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said there is, “no justification for violence, arson or vandalism in our Republic – ever," adding that “Garda investigations are underway”.

Minister McEntee said she can’t make any guarantee that there will be no further attacks of this kind – but Government wants to send out a “clear message” that this type of crime will not be tolerated.

With reporting from Alex Rowley.