Carna Bay Hotel responds to speculation about housing asylum seekers prior community meeting to be held.
The hotel already houses Ukrainian refugees. Carna Bay Hotel told Galway Beo about their contract. It lets them house the Ukrainian refugees and their contract was extended.
The meeting is Saturday, March 8th, at 7:30 PM. It will be at Áras na hOllscoile in Roisín na Mainiach. This location is in Connemara. The meeting will discuss the hotel’s possible offer. The hotel considered housing people seeking international protection.
The Connemara village houses Ukrainian refugees since 2022. The hotel wanted to help. It answered the government’s call for housing. In March 2022, the hotel closed temporarily. This decision was made to house refugees as Russia had invaded Ukraine then.
On March 7th, the hotel gave an update that they extended their refugee housing contract. It is part of a “Temporary Protection” scheme. The hotel will not be an IPAS center.
Hotel managers want to reopen the bar and they also want to use rooms for tourists again. These plans are delayed due to issues beyond their control. The hotel needs a license to reopen the bar. Unused rooms need upgrades and checks. Tourism groups and fire services must inspect them because the hotel changed its use for two years.