The Journal reporting on last night’s fire in Ballina. They report that the site on Kevin Barry Street had been granted planning permission for a social housing project but that there had been rumours that it was to be turned into an IPAS centre. This is the the issue with the government’s policy of ‘no veto, no consultation’ which has been in effect throughout the forced settlement of migrants in small towns for the past number of years. A lack of communication and legal avenues for locals to contest decisions has led to a poisonous mistrust of the government in many towns – especially in Ballina where several hotels have been given over to IPAS despite local protests. It is easy today to attack those who set the fire and say they burned down a social housing project but in a climate of fear, secrecy and mistrust, obviously some thought it was going to be yet another IPAS centre and took matters into their own hands. It is not good they did this but this does not happen in functioning and transparent democracies.

Posted by Fred Bassett