MINISTER'S HOPE AS ASYLUM HOTEL BLOCKADE LIFTED

O'Gorman vows to improve dialogue with communities

- GRAINNE NI AODHA

THE Integration Minister yesterday admitted communication could have been better with locals as they called off their blockade of asylum seeker accommodation.

Roderic O'Gorman said he hoped that once residents spend time with the asylum seekers that would change attitudes towards the 30 men.

A road leading to Magowna House Hotel in Inch, Co Clare, had been blocked by locals using tractors, cars and sileage bales since Monday night.

Local people have been working shifts to man what has been dubbed as a "blockade".

Yesterday, the protesters indicated they would lift the blockade, a move welcomed by the junior minister for integration.

Locals had cited a lack of communication and the unsuitability of the disused hotel as the reason for the protest.

The males, who are from countries including Afghanistan, Algeria and the Congo, are being housed in three bungalows on the grounds of the hotel.

There has been a focus on immigration this week as dozens of asylum seekers have been forced to sleep in tents near the International Protection Office in Dublin.

One makeshift camp set up by asylum seekers was also set alight last weekend, which prompted discussions between ministers and the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on policing resources.