A direct-provision centre recently opened in a Wicklow town hotel “will not offer a positive view” of the area to tourists, a local business group has said. Last month it was announced the Grand Hotel, near the entrance to the town, would be repurposed as a direct-provision centre for more than 100 asylum seekers. In a letter to Wicklow County Council representatives, Robin Bradley, head of the Wicklow Town and District Chamber, said the centre “will not offer a positive view of our town” to visitors. In a letter from Wicklow Town Team to the Department of Justice, the tourism group also criticised the decision to open the centre in the hotel. There was an “extremely outspoken and racist” element to some opposition to the new direct-provision centre on social media from far-right groups and figures, Mr Shanagher said.

Source: The Irish Times December 06, 2018 08:03 UTC