Hearing date set for Lissywollen legal challenge

A full hearing of the legal challenge taken by a number of Athlone councillors against the State's development of a new accommodation centre for up to 1,000 male asylum seekers in Lissywollen has been scheduled for June 23.

The legal challenge on planning and environmental grounds against the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre is being taken by four local elected representatives (Mayor Frankie Keena, Cllr John Dolan, Cllr Aengus O’ Rourke and Cllr Paul Hogan)

In the High Court on Monday of last week, May 26, Judge Emily Farrell set the date of June 23 for a full hearing of the case, a move welcomed by the local public representatives in a joint statement.

“It is anticipated that the full hearing will consider all of the affidavits, the expert planning and environmental opinion, the supplemental legal documents and any other correspondence of relevance,” the councillors' statement read.

The legal proceedings were initially announced last November, when the local councillors stated they would be seeking to bring a judicial review of the Section 181 order issued by the then-Minister Roderic O'Gorman in order to commence works for the development in Lissywollen.

In December, the State indicated it was conceding the legal challenges and the court was told that the Lissywollen development would be regarded as unauthorised.

However, a decision on the future of the site is awaited, and the High Court was previously told that the Minister is seeking a six-month stay on any order made by the court.

Mayor Keena, in a previous statement following an earlier hearing of the case, said the State's Senior Counsel had told the court the Government is preparing to draft legislation to enable developments under Section 181 of the Planning & Development Act 2000 to seek substitute consent.

The Ministerial order directing work on the temporary accommodation in Athlone relied on Section 181 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000.

Substitute consent is a mechanism to regularise development that was carried out without the necessary planning permission.

In their latest statement following the case being mentioned in the High Court on May 26, the councillors said: “Towards the end of the brief sitting, Judge Emily Farrell requested the Senior Counsel for the State to adhere to the commitments and timelines for drafting amending legislation and that these must be submitted in advance of the hearing date.”

“On December 17, the state conceded that this development was invalid. Since then, we have sought a full hearing on the matter and declarations to be made by the cort. So, we welcome the decision by the court to set a full hearing date.

“We express our appreciation to the courts for having the case heard in full in such an expeditious and prompt manner.

“It is widely accepted that the pressure that was on the system has dissipated with a significantly reduced number of people seeking asylum in Ireland this year compared to last year,” the statement continued.

In addition, it was recently reported by the Minister that the number of ineligible candidates for asylum in Ireland has increased significantly to 81% of all seeking asylum. Therefore, the demand previously experienced by the State is greatly diminished,” the councillors said.

“We wholeheartedly welcome the setting of the date for a full hearing so that the concerns raised can be discussed in length by our legal team,” the statement continued.

The councillors said there remained significant concerns and said the ongoing delay for this "already conceded invalid site" had the potential of setting a precedent for future applications. They said there remained significant planning and environmental concerns arising from this “conceded invalid development”.

“We thank the people of Athlone for their unwavering support and we look forward to the full hearing when the matter is before the courts again on June 23.”

In a statement to the Westmeath Independent, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, which took responsibility for integration matters from the Department of Children, Disability and Equality as of May 1, said: “There are ongoing legal proceedings in relation to the planning process at this site. While this matter remains before the court, the Department cannot provide further comment."

It said IPAS would continue to provide accommodation for approximately 150 people seeking international protection at the Midlands Accommodation Centre while legal matters are in progress.

“There are currently over 2,900 international protection applicants that have not been offered accommodation since 2024.

“The Government strategy in finding solutions for accommodation needs, puts an emphasis on State-owned accommodation options such as the Athlone centre and a move away from commercial emergency accommodation.”