Drogheda-based TDs and councillors have said that they did not learn anything new, following a meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varardkar, Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman and Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys on plans to use the D-Hotel to house international protection applicants.
It is understood that international protection applicants are due to begin moving into the hotel this week.
A proposal on the dual use of the hotel by tourists and international protection applicants remains under consideration, however, Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster said that there was "nothing that would give us any hope that dual occupancy can be achieved by Friday".
"The contract has already been signed...dual role occupancy hadn't been negotiated at the time of the contract...the Minister said he's still negotiating, however, the hotel owners themselves said it wasn't an option, so we'll hold out until Thursday or Friday when we hear from the Minister directly but it doesn't look good," Ms Munster said.
She said "it was good that the meeting was facilitated" but believed it was more a gesture of "appeasement" than anything else.
Ms Munster said that "it comes back to the fact that there was literally no consultation, dual occupancy wasn't discussed in negotiations with the contract and now we're stuck with the contract as signed by the Minister".
Ms Munster said she did not believe there would be more protests at the hotel, and that people in Drogheda had been "very welcoming of people fleeing war and persecution".
"But that's not to say that people don't have the right to be annoyed at the lack of consultation by Government," she added.
"If you take your largest functional hotel in your town, how will that impact on your community? That was all they had to ask and we could have told them," Ms Munster said.
Ms Munster said the Government had been "privatising" international protection accommodation "rather than providing reception centres" which it has promised.
Ms Munster added that if the contract goes ahead as it is, "the Government would need to start offering additional resources to the people of Drogheda" including tourism supports, additional educational resources and extra gardai.
Labour TD Ged Nash welcomed the fact that his proposal, made along with Fine Gael TD Fergus O'Dowd, to explore dual occupancy of the hotel was under consideration, but added that "we need a definitive conclusion on that very soon".
Mr Nash said that the meeting had "raised expectations" and yet those who attended "didn’t learn anything at the meeting that we didn’t already know."
"At the meeting I also proposed that the Government would look at using refurbished vacant buildings as an alternative to the State’s disproportionate reliance on hotel beds and I have a commitment that that will be looked at," Mr Nash said.
"This was only and ever about Drogheda being left without its only full-service large-scale hotel. Nothing else," he said.
Mr Nash added: "There is a responsibility on Government leaders to respond to the leadership we have shown in our community and to meet the people of Drogheda half way.
"Drogheda welcomes migrants with grace, with a good heart and with solidarity and we will continue to do so."
A spokesperson for the Department of Integration confirmed that it was agreed at the meeting that "final clarification would be provided by Minister O'Gorman over the coming days on the possibility of dual use of the hotel, recognising the child protection and practical challenges that exist".
"It was also agreed to provide an update on the future use of that hotel and whether it could be reverted back to tourism use, subject to a commercial decision being made by the owner," the spokesperson said.
"Clarification will also be provided more generally on the legal position regarding changing accommodation used to house Ukrainians to International Protection use," they added.
According to a statement the "Taoiseach thanked political representatives for the leadership they have shown locally and for the work they have done to welcome both Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion and those seeking International Protection to date".
"He recognised the concerns raised and the importance of protecting the work done to develop Drogheda into a destination town both for tourism and business investment," the statement said.
"Government continues to support all communities to manage what has been an unprecedented situation with over 130,000 people seeking refuge here over the past couple of years.
"A revised accommodation strategy for International Protection applicants will be brought to Government shortly," the spokesperson added.
