Mayo accommodation controversy can be turned into a positive with the right approach

The calling and subsequent cancellation of a special meeting of Mayo County Council to debate the issue of migrant accommodation has opened up a divisive debate that could have been avoided.

The decision of the three group whips - Councillor Peter Flynn (FG), Councillor Damian Ryan (FF) and Councillor Michael Kilcoyne (Ind) - to place an item on the agenda calling on the council to no longer cooperate with the intake of refugees and asylum seekers until a clear strategy is put in place to ensure the delivery of critical services was always likely to stir emotions.

It was, to say the least, framed in a naive manner that lacked sufficient sensitivity - leaving them open to accusations of pulling off a populist stunt and playing into the hands of a right-wing agenda.

In fairness, such accusations are unfounded as the three councillors in question are not opposed in any way to extending the hand of welcome to people forced to leave their native lands due to war and strife.

They are weighed down by the frustrations caused by an absence of leadership and direction in dealing with the refugee crisis in this country, at the heart of which is a serious lack of communications between the State, local government and communities on the issue as the proverbial right hand does not know what the left one is doing at times.

Regrettably, the three councillors have themselves fallen into the trap of poor communications as they committed the cardinal sin of failing to consult their own members before submitting their request for the meeting, with its accompanying agenda, to the cathaoirleach of the council, as protocols demand.

Now a situation has been reached whereby ‘a genuine attempt to face up to and address the issues for the betterment of all sides’, as Councillor Flynn put it, has been plunged into controversy with many councillors, including the Fine Gael group, boycotting the meeting and others like the trade union, Fórsa, and the Mayo Branch of United Against Racism expressing their dismay over the motion to halt the intake of refugees and asylum seekers.

It is not a particularly proud place in which Mayo County Council finds itself at a time when it is under all sorts of pressures to provide new accommodation for local people facing homelessness as well as coping with the refugee crisis.

Now is a time for cool heads and a calm approach in overcoming what is clearly a crisis for the council and its elected members.

One suspects the direction of the debate in recent days has reassured our new residents that they are very much welcome in Mayo and will continue to be long into the future.

The debate now needs to focus solely on how the council, with the support of the government and backing of its communities, can improve local infrastructures and ensure Mayo remains the best county in Ireland in which to live, work and visit.

For everybody.

Now let's get on with it with a spirit of cohesiveness and positivity.