Residents of Ballivor have sent a clear message to Meath County Council, the HSE and Government that they will not tolerate the Church of Scientology and Narconon locating a drugs rehabilitation centre in their village.
Over 140 people turned out for the protest which was spearheaded by Cllr Noel French and Claire O’Meara of the Ballivor Says No campaign.
The scene of the protest was the former national school which was sold by the parish some years back.
In June 2016, the former primary school in Ballivor came on the market with CBRE, with a half-built nursing home development on the site.
The school building was refurbished and extended to accommodate a modern 15-bedroom nursing home, while on an adjoining 2.26-acre site, some foundations have been laid for a 41-bedroom extension. CBRE was asking €1 million for the ‘Raspberry Wood Nursing Home’ site. The agents are understood to have sold it to another agent, acting for a client.
In August of 2016 it’s understood the Narconon Trust applied to Meath County Council seeking a declaration that the site would be exempt from a change in planning. This was confirmed by the Council.
Cllr Noel French said he was heartened by the turnout for the protest. “The people of Ballivor don’t want this here. We have petitions out in shops, we need our TDs, our councillors, our senators, our ministers and our Toiseach to support this campaign.”
Deputy Shane Cassells said the village of Ballivor needed support and investment and not a facility from “such a shady organisation”.
“I’ve raised this issue on the floor of the Dail with the Taoiseach asking him if this is the type of facility he wants to see operating and the Taoiseach came back and said he certainly didn’t want to see any medical facility operate where there were no suitably qualified people and I’ll be holding the Taoiseach to his word on that so that we don’t have a Narconon drugs rehabilitation centre operating in Ballivor”.
Claire O’Meara of Ballivor Says No group said that the village was completely unsuitable for locating such a facility and she said the campaign to see the project stopped would continue.
In answer to a parliamentary question by Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tóibín the Department for Health has admitted that there is currently no provision in legislation for the regulation or inspection of residential treatment or rehabilitation centres specialising in addiction.
The Meath West TD asked the question in relation to the proposed Church of Scientology Narconn drug treatment centre in Ballivor Co Meath.
Teachta Tóibín said;
“There is significant opposition and concern in Meath that this unregulated facility could negatively impact on local people.
“The Department of Health also stated to me that organisations which provide addiction services and are funded by the HSE are required to meet minimum standards in the delivery of services across a range of criteria which form the basis of any service level agreement.
“The Department went further and highlighted that there is no evidence to suggest that the drug treatment programme, provided by the organisation I had referred to them, would meet any of the criteria set out by the HSE for agencies that provide addiction services in its behalf.
“It appears that anyone can set up a residential treatment facility without accreditation and regulation in Ireland at the moment. To me this is a major gap in the state’s responsibility to protect the most vulnerable people.
“People in the grip of addiction are often at their most vulnerable. Over 80% of people presenting with substance abuse suffer with anxiety, depression and have backgrounds of trauma.
“The State has a duty of care and must protect these people. Surely Minister Catherine Byrne must start the process of developing minimum standards for all residential treatment or rehabilitation centers specializing in addiction. This process needs to happen now.”
ENDS//
Note: Please see PQ below
QUESTION* To ask the Minister for Health if an organisation (details supplied) or its affiliate organisations has been granted certification, accreditation or a licence by organisations under the direction of his department to deliver health, education or addiction programmes; and if the organisation must have certification, accreditation or a licence to deliver health, education or addiction services here.
Peadar Tóibín T.D.Details Supplied: the Church of Scientology
REPLY
The advice of my Department would be that anyone seeking treatment for addiction should contact their local HSE addiction service.The Department has no jurisdiction over agencies that provide private addiction services.
There is currently no provision in legislation for the regulation or inspection of residential treatment or rehabilitation centres specialising in addiction.Organisations which provide addiction services and are funded by the HSE are required to meet minimum standards in the delivery of services across a range of criteria which form the basis of any service level agreement.
There is no evidence to suggest that the drug treatment programme, provided by the organisation referred to by the Deputy, would meet any of the criteria set out by the HSE for agencies that provide addiction services in its behalf.
That organisation’s drug treatment programme comprises a series of interventions with limited or no basis in a scientific understanding of human physiology and brain functioning.
Only appropriately qualified and licensed people should provide addiction services, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.
He was responding to concerns about efforts by the Church of Scientology to establish a drugs rehabilitation programme in the village of Ballivor, Co Meath.
Fianna Fáil TD Shane Cassells referred to the religious organisation’s attempts to set up a Narconon programme in an old national school in Ballivor and he asked “if the cult’s wacky drug rehabilitation programme is legally permitted to operate in the State”.
The Meath West TD asked Mr Varadkar to send a message of support, as Taoiseach and a doctor, to concerned parents in the village who plan a protest outside the school at 2pm on Wednesday. “They are petrified about the safety of their children,” he said.
The Taoiseach replied: “I am absolutely of the view that the only people who should provide addiction services are those who are appropriately qualified and licensed to do so.”
He added that on occasion addiction services are provided by religious groups. “I know that a number of Catholic groups provide alcohol counselling services and do so very well.”
Fianna Fáil Meath East TD Thomas Byrne said “it is not a religion but a scam”.
The Taoiseach said he had read a little about the issue in the papers but did not know all the details or facts.
Mr Cassells asked if the programme planned by the Church of Scientology is legally permitted.
The Taoiseach replied that no matter what background people came from “it is essential that such services only be provided by those who are qualified and legally permitted to provide them”.
Shane Cassells, TD for Meath West: “Taoiseach, the program for government committed you to a new national drug strategy, which you launched last summer, and you said at the launch that the treatment of abuse as a public health issue rather than a criminal justice issue, and I quote, “helps communities”. Taoiseach, can I ask you whether the small rural community of Ballivor in County Meath will be helped by the attempt from the Church of Scientology trying to establish a Narconon drug program in their tiny village in an old national school, and furthermore, whether this cult’s wacky drug rehab program is legally permitted to operate in this state, and whether you, Taoiseach, would like to send a message, both as Taoiseach and as a doctor, of support to the concerned parents who would protest outside to school tomorrow at 2:00 p.m., petrified for the safety of their children in the town of Ballivor?”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar: “I read a little about this in the papers, but I don’t have, I don’t know all the details or all the facts but I would certainly be absolutely of the view that the only people who provide services with respect to addiction should be people who are appropriately qualified and appropriately licensed to do so. On occasion, those services can be provided by religious groups, I know a number of Catholic religious groups that provide alcohol counseling services and and do so and do so very well, but no matter what background they’re coming from, I think it’s absolutely essential that these should only be provided by people who are qualified and legally permission to do so.”
Thomas Byrne, TD for Meath East: “It is not a religion but a scam.”
Shane Cassells: “Is the programme legally permitted?”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar: “No matter from what background they come, it is essential that such services only be provided by those who are qualified and legally permitted to provide them.”
Cassells raises concern over phony Scientology rehab centre planned for Ballivor
Fianna Fáil TD Shane Cassells has asked the Taoiseach to provide reassurance that an organisation closely linked with the secretive cult-like Church of Scientology will not be facilitated in setting up operations in a rural village in Meath.
Deputy Cassells made comments after raising the issue directly with An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dáil Éireann earlier today.
Deputy Cassells said, “Narconon, which is indistinguishable from the Church of Scientology, is attempting to setup operations in Ballivor under the guise of a drugs rehabilitation project. The so called rehabilitation programmes run by the Church of Scientology and its affiliated organisations have been widely discredited. They are used as a front to indoctrinate vulnerable people, usually young men, into following the whacky teachings of the self-labelled ‘Church’.
“The people of Ballivor don’t want anything to do with Narconon or the shady organisation that backs them. I raised this issue in the Dáil with the Taoiseach earlier today and sought reassurance that the Government will support the local community. I was encouraged by the Taoiseach’s reply that those offering drugs rehabilitation services must be medically trained and have relevant clinical experience. This is a view that I support.
“The Church of Scientology have been attempting to intensify their operations in Ireland. This is a shady cult which has been involved in numerous scandals, including one of the largest infiltrations of the United States Government with the aim of purging unfavourable records relating to the organisation. Many former members of the organisation have spoken out about it’s cult-like activities and how they were viciously targeted by operatives linked to the Church following their departure.
“We do not want the Church of Scientology, or any front organisation linked to it, operating in our community. I’m calling on people to come out and support the protest due to be held in Ballivor tomorrow afternoon,” concluded Deputy Cassells.
Meath County Council has confirmed it received planning inquiries about the opening of a controversial facility connected to the Church of Scientology.
The local authority today, in an email to Fine Gael councillor Noel French, said Narconon, the Church of Scientology linked drug rehab organisation, made inquiries about the planning requirements for a drug rehab centre at the former national school in Ballivor.
The council previously stated it had received no such inquiries.
Narconon, officially an international not-for-profit drug rehab organisation, is widely accepted as being funded and operated by Scientologists.
Cllr French said: “I am bucking mad!! No chance to challenge change of use at County Council level.
“I will be asking Meath County Council to ensure that this does not happen again. All planning material relating to a site should be put online not just some of it. I am really annoyed by this revelation.”
Ballivor residents are due to hold a protest at 1.30pm on Wednesday against the opening of the development.
Peadar Toibin, the local Sinn Fein TD, is still waiting to hear from the Department of Health as to whether Narconon would need a licence here.
In the email, a spokesperson for Meath County Council said: “We had previously confirmed that there had been no recent requests for pre-planning meetings and no recent contacts relating to the development and that remains the position.
“We have now carried further searches to establish if there had been any applications or contacts in previous years by The Church of Scientology or Narconon.
“The Council can now confirm that in August 2016 we were requested by the Narconon Trust c/o McGill Planning, 7 Fitzwilliam Street Upper, Dublin 2, to make a declaration in accordance with Part V of the Planning & Development Acts as to whether or not a change of use from a nursing home to a residential drug rehabilitation facility was an exempted development.
“The Council issued a declaration on 2nd October 2016 that the change of use as outlined in their submission was exempted development (and therefore would not require planning permission).”
Narconon and the Church of Scientology have not responded to media queries on the matter.
Locals are suspicious of plans by ‘cult’ church for a drug rehab centre in a remote village in Meath, writes Maeve Sheehan
The usually secretive Church of Scientology claims to have opened its doors to Irish communities as it makes its presence felt in Ireland. It hosted a free Winter Wonderlands for kids at its €6m “Community Centre” at Firhouse and directs its “campaigns” to “share its ideals with the Irish people” from its “national affairs office” in a €2m Georgian building on Merrion Square, where visitors are welcome.
The silence around the Scientologists’ latest suspected project – a drugs rehab centre in a rural Meath village – is deafening. Although Ballivor is only 42 kilometres from Dublin, it is in a remote part of the county. Fewer than 2,000 people live there. The only public transport is a bus which comes once in the morning and once in evening. The new national school is on the main street. There are plans for a playground beside it. The community centre is across the street, next to what was supposed to be a nursing home in the original parish school building. Locals believe it is soon to be the new home for Narconon, officially an international not-for-profit drug rehab organisation, but widely accepted as being funded and operated by Scientologists.
The programme is based on a regime of vitamins, intensive sauna and exercise and has been dismissed by HSE experts as being without medical basis.
Ballivor’s isolation is probably part of the attraction, according to Noel French, a local Fine Gael councillor and one of the few politicians to voice concerns about the facility that is linked to a religion that Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin describes as a “cult”.
“We are lucky in Ireland that we have freedom of belief and everyone is free to believe what they want. Ballivor is a small community but it does have its vulnerable groups like every other small community and I would be concerned at the introduction of a group like Narconon into the community,” he said.
The partially finished nursing home with 56 beds was put on the market through CBRE for €1m in 2016 and was sold last year to a mysterious entity that has yet to declare itself.
Last month, the residents obtained land registry records that named a Ryan Alabaster, with an address care of the legal firm, Noel Smyth & Co, as the registered. owner of the property. The firm also helped incorporate its national affairs office and Firhouse Community Centre as companies here.
When the Sunday Independent rang the Church of Scientology’s national affairs office in Dublin requesting to speak to Ryan Alabaster, we were told: “I mean he comes through here from time to time. I will forward the message to him.” We then rang the Church of Scientology in California and asked for Ryan Alabaster. We were put through to the “estates office”.
The woman who picked up said: “I think you are through to the wrong place.” The receptionist said: “Oh, then he must have moved. That was his office.”
We rang Narconon in California using the name Mary, and asked the woman who answered the phone when the Narconon centre was opening in Ireland? She didn’t know and went off to inquire, then said: “The estimation would be in six months.”
The Church of Scientology’s national affairs office in Dublin, which directs its “campaigns” on “drug addiction, educational opportunities, crime and prison recidivism” has not responded to media queries.
This is not the first time the Scientologists have attempted to establish Narconon in Ireland. Narconon Ireland was first registered with the Companies Office here in 1997, while Criminon – a criminal rehabilitation programme that is regarded as a front group for Scientologists was registered as a business owned by Narconon Ireland. Neither appears to have got off the ground and both businesses were dissolved in 2002.
The Scientologists’ latest incursion into Ireland is more ambitious.
Last week, the Sunday Independent met Schkelzen “Leni” Bundo at a coffee shop in Tallaght. The Albanian man, who has been in Ireland for 10 years, worked at the Scientologists’ Firhouse Community Centre from September to November. He claims dozens of senior Scientologists came to work at the centre, staying in rented properties in Wicklow, Dublin 4, a large period property in Kildare and in Meath.
Bundo said he became involved in Scientologist “through a girlfriend”. He then joined the “staff” at the centre in Firhouse. He said he was told that first he’d first have to do a purification programme – a cleansing programme similar to Narconon’s – that involves clearing the body toxins with a multitude of Vitamin pills and saunas. The course cost him €1,800, he says. Bun do says he worked in the Firhouse Centre cafe, for cash, and claims he was paid less than €3 an hour.
Bundo left in November. He claims he is owed money and is getting legal advice. As regards the interview, he says: “I am not doing it just to get my money back. I just doing to tell all the staff who is there, if you protect your rights, you know. Some of them afraid to speak out.”
A statement said the centre’s staff were “religious volunteers” who made a “religious pledge” to “actively forward. the work of the Church”.
The Church of Scientology is sensitive to criticism. Last week, it threatened to sue Fiona O’Leary, an autism campaigner and vociferous anti-Scientologist on Facebook and Twitter. A letter from Noel Smyth Co solicitors accused her of among other things, recording conversations with staff and putting them online and spreading disinformation.
But in the absence of any comment from the Church of Scientology or Narconon, residents of Ballivor are turning to O’Leary and other anti-Scientology campaigners for help in finding out the fate of their former parish school.
They intend to object to any planning applications for the site – that is if planning permission is required. A Narconon Centre in the UK operates on the basis that it provides spiritual, not medical treatment and calls its and diet clients “students”. Peadar Toibin, the local Sinn Fein TD, is still waiting to hear from the Department of Health as to whether Narconon would need a licence here.
A number of former members of the Church of Scientology will address a protest meeting at 2.30pm on Wednesday in Ballivor, which was organised by local residents including Clare O’Mara and Sinead McGrath. “We do not have enough information but people are concerned,” said Sinead.
A health professional has warned that a course of vitamins given by scientologists to recruits at its new Firhouse centre, as part of a €1,800 “purification” programme, is potentially dangerous.
Orla Walsh, a dietitian, has reviewed the list of supplements given to Zeni Bundo, an Albanian who worked in the scientologists’ centre up to last November.
Bundo, 31, has claimed the organisation treated staff “like slaves”, paying them less than the minimum wage and expecting them to work up to 15 hours a day. Bundo worked as a driver and cafe assistant for the scientologists but left before completing the purification course. He said he was made to take repeated saunas in the Firhouse centre, to swallow masses of vitamins that made him feel ill, and was asked personal questions while monitored by a meter.
Walsh reviewed the dosages of 11 vitamins and supplements Bundo was told to take over the last five days of his course. “The amounts and dosages of vitamins prescribed in this case can be considered dangerous and not suitable,” she said.
Among the 11 vitamins and supplements Bundo was told to take daily was vitamin A with 50,000 individual units (IU), to be consumed on day one. Walsh said it was inadvisable to ingest any supplement with more than 10,000 IU of vitamin A. Depending on the amount taken and the duration, side effects of excess vitamin A can include “liver damage, I dizziness, nausea, headaches, skin issues and joint pain”. Bundo says he wants to i warn people not to join the I religion, and claims locals as young as 15 are being recruited in Firhouse.
Bundo used to drive scientologists arriving at Dublin airport to residences in Meath and Avon Ri in Wicklow, or bring them into Dublin for training. Bundo said his first month’s pay was just €255 cash. His weekly pay then ranged from €180 to €330. “I thought, what the hell is going on here?” he said. “They are slaving, not respecting the work I am doing.”
Bundo lived in Avon Ri, where the religious group has rented dozens of holiday houses for staff. One of his housemates was a Japanese woman who said she had spent $40,000 (€32,700) on attempting to go “clear”. The Albanian man said he often saw staff in tears and they were afraid to speak out.
Diana Stahl, the public affairs director for the Church of Scientology’s Irish wing, said all the centre’s staff were “religious volunteers”.
“Each volunteer makes a religious pledge to ‘actively forward the work of the church out of a deep personal commitment to scientology’,” she said. Stahl added that the church complied with Irish laws and was a non-profit organiSation. She described the purification programme as a religious serVice taken by members “on their own spiritual path” and said it was not a medical treatment. The church generally asked for a donation of €1,500 in return.”
‘Do not go near them…it will destroy you’ – Ex Scientology worker issues warning over church
A man who became involved with the Scientology movement in Dublin has issued a warning to those thinking of joining to stay away, claiming: “You end up with nothing.”
Zeni Bundo, who was a member of the new Scientology European Headquarters in Firhouse, warned: “Do not go near them. You will destroy your family and yourself.”
In an exclusive interview, the 31-year-old said he worked at the centre. He described the Firhouse base as a place where the goal is expensive health programmes as well as employing staff at below the minimum wage.
Zeni, who has left the Scientology group, said he was told to take a massive number of tablets as part of a ‘purification’ regime which cost him €1,800 to undergo. He is seeking legal advice regarding his employment, and will assist authorities in employment and revenue sectors.
In a statement, Scientology moved to clarify that all of the centre’s staff are in fact “religious volunteers”.
Zeni came from Albania 10 years ago and has lived and worked all over Ireland.
In September last year, a friend of his who had been involved with Scientology introduced him to the group, which was about to open its flagship HQ in south Dublin.
“I thought I could maybe get a job there, and that was the aim. It looked really modern and new and I thought it could be a good place to work,” said Zeni.
His girlfriend became involved and he said the Scientologists flew her to LA for a month for training – it made him think that it was a professional organisation.
“Then one of the guys in there said I needed to do a programme, and there was others too who were saying it would purify me. I didn’t believe them, but then there was more people saying it, and at that stage I started to think maybe I would become a better person. In the end, I agreed to do it,” he added.
“When I look back, I see I was being pushed into it, being told I had problems and they could cure them.”
He said he received a large box of tablets, mainly labelled as vitamins, which he was to take daily. “You have to take them for a month, many, many tablets every day, and do five hours in a sauna every day too.
“I started getting headaches but they would not let me take Panadol or anything. I would like to get the tablets tested and see what is in them,” he said.
As well as doing the ‘purification programme’, Zeni said he was given a job working in the café and restaurant.
“They were paying me cash in hand, which I was not happy about. I have been in the country 10 years and want to work properly and officially and pay tax and make sure all my papers are in order. I asked them many times about organising tax but they kept putting it off.”
When approached for comment, the Church of Scientology categorically denied any breach of employment law.
In a separate statement, Scientology Ireland said that in order to qualify as a volunteer, an applicant must be a “devout member” of the church.”Each volunteer makes a religious pledge to actively forward the work of the church out of a deep personal commitment to Scientology,” they said.
“All of our churches around the world comply with the law in each jurisdiction in which they reside, and the Church of Scientology & Community Centre of Dublin is no exception.”
They added: “The centre is entirely a non-profit religious organisation. Its only purpose, and the only purpose of Scientologists who volunteer their time on staff, is to help people.”
Zeni said that at the end of his ‘purification’ course, he felt no better than at the start of it.
“But I could not admit to that. If I told them I was the same, they would recommend another course called ‘survivor rundown’ and charge me more money.
“This is how they survive. They brainwash you and take your money,” he said.
“My girlfriend was there at the same time as me. She still is there but we have split now. Scientology separates you from your family and your friends. You end up with nothing,” he said.
He left in November as his ‘purification’ came to an end. Zeni said he was told to sign a document saying he would not speak out against Scientology.
“They do this to frighten you, but it is worth nothing. I have a voice. I have seen what I have seen and now I am speaking out, and my message to everyone else in there is to do the same.”
Looking back, Zeni said the aim of Scientology is to “target rich people and bulls*** them”.
“It starts with free courses to get you in and happy with Scientology, and then it is a course for €1,800, but the aim is to get €25,000 from you. I saw people spend €45,000 on courses,” he said.
The Irish Independent accompanied Zeni to the Scientology centre as he tried to get a copy of his employment contract but he was told he would have to apply in writing and wait up to 30 days for it.
They said they could not give it to him under the Data Protection Act.
The staff member would not answer questions on Zeni’s employment, but provided an email address to contact instead.
A spokeswoman for Scientology then replied to our questions by saying Zeni’s accusations were false. “The so-called allegation is also false, mischievous and dishonest. The Church of Scientology categorically denies any breach of employment law,” said Diana Stahl.
Ballivor locals, annoyed at being ‘stonewalled with secrecy’, plan to protest at the site next week
For the last several months rumours have circulated in the small Co Meath town of Ballivor suggesting that its abandoned national school had been taken over by a controversial drug rehabilitation group linked to the Church of Scientology.
Locals have been so concerned with the rumours that community meetings have been organised with Scientology representatives invited to attend.
But until now that’s all they were, rumours. Scientology’s spokeswoman in Dublin repeatedly said she had no knowledge of the facility and insisted the drug treatment operation, Narconon, was an entirely separate organisation to the church.
Scientology’s Dublin operation declined to send a representative to a meeting of Ballivor locals to alleviate their concerns last month, while requests for comment from Narconon in the UK went unanswered
On Friday, The Irish Times confirmed the facility is closely linked to Scientology, forming part of the organisation’s efforts to insert itself into many aspects of Irish society including the educational and charity sectors.
Land Registry documents for Co Meath show the site was purchased in January 2017 by Ryan Alabaster, represented by the law firm Noel Smyth & Partners.
When asked by phone on Friday whether Mr Alabaster was available to talk, a staff member at the Church of Scientology national affairs office in Merrion Square said Mr Alabaster was not in the office but had visited Ireland a number of times in recent months to work on a “project” in the country.
The staff member also confirmed that Mr Alabaster “moves around a lot” and that he is based in the US.
A further request for comment from the Church of Scientology went unanswered.
Noel Smyth & Partners represented Scientology’s Irish operation in a 2013 High Court case in which a former member sued for the return of money he had given the church. The firm also represented Scientology in a 2003 case where another former member sued the church alleging conspiracy, misrepresentation, breach of constitutional rights and deliberate infliction of emotional harm. The case was settled.
While the Church of Scientology denied any connection to the treatment programme, the Narconon methods are advertised on the scientology.ie website as “procedures to alleviate the mental and physical anguish connected with drugs” through a rehabilitation process which eliminates all drug residues from the body. The main treatment involves subjects spending hours in a sauna while taking huge doses of vitamins.
In 2012, Oklahoma authorities investigated several deaths at the state’s Narconon facility before revoking its medical permit.
Health Service Executive (HSE) representatives have previously stated aspects of the treatment have no standing within the medical community. Asked for comment, a HSE spokeswoman said it has no involvement with the plans.
The new owner of the Ballivor site is yet to apply for permission to change the purpose of the development. Documents lodged with Meath County Council still state its intended use is as a nursing home.
Cllr Noel French (Fine Gael) said he first aired his concerns last October, and that these have increased as the months have passed.
“We have tried to find out what the building is going to be used for but we’ve been stonewalled with secrecy. Why all the secrecy over a nursing home in the middle of a town with 1,700 residents?
“At the minute contractors can finish the building up to planning permission regulations, which is what they are entitled to do. We can’t legally challenge this venture – whatever it is – but we would like to take a stand and get it out there that the community of Ballivor don’t want it.”
Mr French added: “Ballivor is vulnerable place as it is. There is only one bus in and out of the village and no GP. We do not need a ‘wellness centre’ or anything else remotely associated with the teaching of the Church of Scientology.
“We have fear over the lack of information and that fear, at the minute is our power unless we get transparency,” he said.
Locals have planned a protest at the site for next Wednesday. Local resident Claire O’Mara said one of the most worrying aspects about the development is the secrecy.
“Is it the Church of Scientology, is it Narconon? Are they the same thing? We are being told nothing and that’s scaring us into operation,” she said. “There is 24 hour security on site, whose car registration plates are all blacked out. This centre would give the wrong impression of our town” Ms O’Mara continued.
“There’s less of a chance to shut it down once it’s opened so we will do all we can now, unless we receive information to ease our concerns.”
Ex-Scientologists Ireland 