The direct provision accommodation centre in Lissywollen, Athlone, where a tented camp has been set up to add to its capacity.

Asylum seekers to move into Athlone tented camp

Adrian Cusack

Published: Tue 20 Sep 2022, 1:06 PM

Last updated: Tue 20 Sep 2022, 1:52 PM

More than 170 asylum seekers are due to move into a tented camp in Athlone this week, with no indication being given as to long they will be staying in the makeshift facility.

The tented accommodation, first reported on in the Westmeath Independent in July, was put in place last month on the grounds of the direct provision centre in Lissywollen.

A Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth spokesperson said on Monday that the Athlone tents would have capacity for 176 people, and that they would be occupied from tomorrow (Wednesday).

The spokesperson gave no timeframe for how long the tents would be in use, saying only that "all international protection applicants in tented accommodation are prioritised to move to suitable accommodation as soon as it becomes available."

The Department added that, "Due to the severe pressure on available accommodation, it is necessary for tented accommodation to be utilised at certain locations, including Athlone, in order to ensure sufficient accommodation is available to international protection applicants that need it."

The Irish Refugee Council has expressed concern about the use of tents to accommodate asylum seekers.

"Tents may be better than the homelessness (of 201 newly arrived asylum seekers) that we saw two weeks ago, but it remains far from the ethical and moral obligations that we have... as well as the legal obligations that exist under the reception conditions directive," Irish Refugee Council CEO Nick Henderson told RTE.

Meanwhile, the use of the former Our Lady's Bower convent to accommodate Ukrainian people fleeing the war in their native country began in recent weeks.

A spokesperson for the Bower Hall facility said that the first Ukrainian residents were relocated to Athlone from their previous accommodation in Maynooth campus.

"We continue to engage with the Department in offering availability at Bower Hall and we are actively engaged with local services and the local community in assisting residents with their re-location and integration," the spokesperson said.