A meeting, organised by Ballyhaunis Chamber of Commerce and Ballyhaunis Community Council, will discuss the concerns around their arrival and fears that the refugees have criminal backgrounds and are child killers.

The meeting will be held next Friday, October 17, and legal action is not being ruled out at this stage.

Chief executive of Ballyhaunis Chamber of Commerce, Anne Cunnane, said: “We want to know the truth about these people that are coming to Ballyhaunis. If they have criminal backgrounds, then why are they being allowed to enter this country in the first place. Ballyhaunis has been very welcoming so far and we have no problem with people coming to our town.

“What we want is the truth and deal with the grave concerns that people in Ballyhaunis now have about this. We have a lot of people coming into us who are very worried about this. “If they have criminal backgrounds, what crimes have they committed? Are they families or children only? And have they been trained to be or have they been soldiers?”

These concerns arose after an interview with David Wallace on the Tommy Marren show on Mid-West Radio. During the interview, Mr Wallace revealed that he was there when the refugees were being picked and that some of them are child killers.

“After we heard this, we got very worried. That is why we have called this meeting to see can we get answers. We want to see what we can find out through these channels. But we are not ruling out taking legal action on this issue.”

Mayo Fine Gael TD, John O’Mahony put these concerns to Conor Lenihan, Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in a Dáil question last week. In his response Mr Lenihan said: “These allegations are appalling and baseless. Nine families, consisting of 84 individuals, have been interviewed. There are 29 adults ranging in age from 18 to 68 years. The rest are 55 children. Of these, 30 were born and raised within the refugee camps.

“The average time the families have been in the camps is 11 years. The families concerned are mainly persons with some type of medical need. The persons being selected for relocation are under the care of the UNHCR and the selection procedure being followed on this occasion was the same as that applied in previous instances.

“It is grossly unfair to stigmatise a vulnerable group of people in this way and the fact that these allegations were broadcast calls into question the responsibility of all concerned.

“I want to add that the person who was interviewed on radio in this connection was not present in the camps when my party was there or otherwise in the course of the selection process.

“On completion of the eight-week orientation programme, the resettled refugees will transfer to other parts of the country for permanent resettlement. They are not being settled permanently in Mayo.”

Despite this statement, the meeting in Ballyhaunis next week is still going ahead.

“We have invited local public representatives and Mr Lenihan’s office to attend to address the questions and fears from the people of the town.

“Last time refugees arrived we were told where they were going to be resettled after they got their training in Ballyhaunis. This time, we have not been told directly where are they being resettled. There is a lot of fear in the town now and we feel it needs to be addressed out in the open.”

At present, 315 refugees are staying in the Convent in Ballyhaunis. If the Congo refugees arrive, this will add an extra 84 refugees to the area.

Ms Cunnane added that Ballyhaunis was previously promised investment but it has never materialised. She added: “The town does not have the facilities to deal with all of these people. Where is the investment we were promised?”

Mayo’s public representatives along with Minister Conor Lenihan, who has responsibility in this area and John Haskins of the Integration Agency have been invited to the meeting.

The meeting will take place on Friday, October 17, in the conference room at the Credit Union Building, Clare Street, Ballyhaunis, starting at 7pm sharp.

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