"My concerns over IPAS centre haven't changed": 'Boxer' hits back at Athlone councillors

Minister of State Kevin 'Boxer' Moran has hit back at criticism of him from the four Athlone councillors taking an ongoing legal action against the Government over the establishment of the new IPAS (International Protection Accommodation Service) centre in Lissywollen.

The High Court case being taken on behalf of Cllr Paul Hogan (Independent Ireland), Cllr Frankie Keena (Fianna Fáil), Cllr Aengus O'Rourke (Fianna Fáil) and Cllr John Dolan (Fine Gael), was last week adjourned again, until September 26.

Last November, a few weeks before his re-election to the Dáil, 'Boxer' Moran, joined the other four councillors in announcing the decision to embark on the legal action, but his involvement in the case ended after he was returned to the Oireachtas.

In the aftermath of the latest adjournment at the High Court, Cllr Hogan issued a joint statement this week, on behalf of himself and his three council colleagues, which strongly criticised the Government's handling of the issue and took direct aim at 'Boxer' in particular.

"It is beyond belief that the Government is trying to circumvent the law in this manner — backed, no less, by a junior minister who was a co-signatory on the original case against the Government.

"It’s like something you’d see in an episode of ‘Yes Minister'," the statement issued by Cllr Hogan said.

The statement went on to argue that 'Boxer', as the Government Minister with responsibility for the OPW, has the authority to bring the "unauthorised" Lissywollen development to an end.

Responding, in a statement today, 'Boxer' pointed out that the Lissywollen centre had been put in place by the previous Government - of which he was not a member - and that he continues to view it as an "unacceptable" development.

"I wasn't part of that decision, and I won't defend it," he stated. "Dropping 1,000 people into tents in a field isn't a policy—it's panic dressed up as planning."

He went on to accuse his former council colleagues in Athlone of engaging in "performative outrage" and attempting to use the IPAS issue to "score cheap political points".

He pointed out three of the four councillors involved in the High Court action were members of Government parties, and said, "somewhat hypocritically, they are targeting me, when I would encourage them to go to their respective party leaders and raise their concerns."

The full statement issued by Kevin 'Boxer' Moran today regarding the Athlone IPAS High Court case is as follows:

"I understand the concerns being raised regarding the proposed IPAS centre at Lissywollen, Athlone and I want to address them directly and the comments made by four local councillors in a statement issued by them yesterday, August 6, 2025.

"Before my appointment as a Minister of State, I was a party to the current High Court legal proceedings initiated by local representatives with regard to the proposed IPAS centre at Lissywollen.

"When I became a Minister, I was legally required to withdraw from the case. As part of the Government, I can’t be involved in legal action against it. But my commitment to the community, and to this issue, hasn’t changed.

"I am very surprised that local representatives, some of whom are very experienced, have failed to understand this basic legal point. As a Minister, I cannot participate in a court case where the Government is the respondent.

"However, let's be clear about one thing: my withdrawal from the case does not mean that I have somehow abandoned the concerns around the proposed IPAS centre. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"I remain deeply engaged with the issues surrounding the proposed centre, and I still maintain my view that to place 1,000 people in tents in a field is not a solution to anything – it is not acceptable.

"I'd also remind people that this proposal for Athlone was initiated by the previous government. I wasn’t part of that decision, and I won’t defend it. I wasn’t even a councillor at the time when that decision was made! Dropping 1,000 people into tents in a field isn’t a policy—it's panic dressed up as planning.

"I reject any suggestion of hypocrisy. My role has changed, but my commitment on this issue has not. I will continue to work within the bounds of my office to ensure that local voices are heard and respected. I have been doing this from day one.

"I welcome scrutiny and debate—that's the essence of democracy. But I ask that it be grounded in facts, not misrepresentation. And I call on the local representatives to bear this in mind while discussing this important and highly sensitive topic.

"In particular, I would also like to point out that I am in Government with the very same parties as these local councillors purport to belong to. Yet, somewhat hypocritically, they are targeting me when I would encourage them to go to their respective party leaders and raise their concerns.

"Local Fianna Fail and Fine Gael councillors have taken it upon themselves to attack me publicly—despite belonging to the very same parties that form this Government. If that’s not hypocrisy, I don't know what is.

"If these councillors have genuine concerns, they should raise them through their party leaders, not through performative outrage designed to score cheap political points.

"If they want to distance themselves from the immigration policies that their parties brought in as part of the last government, they should be honest about it and resign from them —not pretend they're outsiders when it suits them.

"When it’s politically convenient, they pretend they had nothing to do with the decisions of the last Government," the statement from Minister of State Moran concluded.