A meeting between Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman and Drogheda Borough district councillors over plans to use the town's D Hotel as an accommodation centre for international protection applicants has concluded.
Following the virtual meeting a cross party group of councillors described the meeting as an "initial discussion".
They said they had "flagged the anger of the people of the town as to the manner that this decision was handled" and the impact of losing the hotel as a tourist asset.
Dual usage of the hotel was also discussed at the meeting.
Councillors said that that issue is "currently under consideration" and that "discussions are currently underway as to possible solutions that could assist".
Speaking after the meeting, Deputy Mayor Kevin Callan said that a solution has to be found.
"We were not consulted, we don't know how this decision was made or reached," he said.
"And we need to have some form of a compromise or something has to change.
"But from the initial conversation, we've pushed the Minister to meet us next week again, so that we can move this matter on. Our priority is Drogheda."
The large number of vacant properties in Drogheda that could be used for such accommodation was also raised with the minister.
In a joint statement, the councillors said they "made it clear to the minister that the approach in Drogheda has not worked, is not acceptable and should not be repeated at other locations across the country".
Another meeting with Minister O'Gorman is planned for next week.
The government plans to use the D Hotel to accommodate up to 500 asylum seekers.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the Government's preference was for the hotel to have a "dual use", where it could be used for both international protection applicants and visitors.
However, a spokesperson for the hotel said it will not be possible to have a "dual use" due to child protection issues.
International protection applicants are set to start arriving at the 113-bedroom hotel in the centre of the town from 5 March.
Details of the two-year contract between the Department of Integration and the D Hotel emerged last week.
Since then, concerns have been raised by local TDs and councillors about the impact the loss of the hotel will have on the town, business and tourism.
It is estimated that the loss of hotel beds for visitors and tourists will come at a cost of more than €5m to the local economy.
The hotel has said its function rooms and bar will continue to be open to the public.
Mr O’Gorman met with representatives from the business community in Drogheda yesterday, who described the meeting as "comprehensive" and "frank".
The Drogheda District Chamber represents around 200 businesses.
President of the Chamber Hubert Murphy said the news last week led to shock and anger.
"The town here has lacked bedrooms for many years, for conferences, for weddings, so to lose such a volume was an incredible shock," he said.
"There was a degree of anger as well."
Mr Murphy said he believed the "dual purpose" proposal for the D Hotel could be the solution in Drogheda.
"I think the dual purpose idea for the D Hotel is viable, it can work," he said.
"It's going to take some compromise from all sides, but if the town is at the heart of all these discussions, I think it can happen."
Mr Murphy said that businesses acknowledged that the minister has a job to do and that there is a humanitarian crisis.
He said: "We represent the town. We put forward that the tourism business is huge and is a challenge, and we needed to get our message across that we need assistance after this decision.
"How we do that, we will go back with ideas and suggestions. The bottom line is, this is going to be about compromise, we're going to have to find solutions one way or the other."
Group says move would take €5m from local economy
Also at yesterday's meeting, was CEO of Love Drogheda Business Improvement District Trevor Connolly.
The group is tasked with promoting Drogheda as a great place to live, work and visit.
The group has also been working on building tourism capacity in the town in recent years, developing a series of festivals and events, including the Lú festival of light, the St Patrick's festival, and a new comedy festival launching on 8 March.
Mr Connolly said losing the 113 bedrooms in the hotel means losing 56% of the town centre capacity and losing more than €5m from the local economy.
He said that they sought a number of different commitments from the minister, including that an economic impact assessment be conducted and also that if any contracts are entered, they are for a set term.
Mr Connolly said: "Across the country, this is happening in towns and villages across the country, where you have a number of organisations looking to build up tourism capacity and then it's been stripped from those areas.
"It's about the local economy. You have the humanitarian crisis but you have to balance that with the needs of the local economy. If Drogheda had 1,000 beds, the loss of 100 may not be as significant as in the current situation."
Mr Connolly said that Love Drogheda's preference would be that the hotel remains as visitor accommodation.
"In terms of dual use, I believe that is going to be investigated by the Department," he said.
"The Taoiseach has made a comment on that and our own political representatives in Dáil Éireann made very strong comment on that yesterday afternoon as well and we appreciate that."
If the dual use proposal came to pass, Mr Connolly said: "We would have to be supportive of any measure that can ensure we still have visitor accommodation in our town centre to help support the events and festivals that we are trying to grow."
