Department 'continuing to work on law to regularise Athlone IPAS centre'
The Department of Justice has this week reiterated its stance on the highly controversial Athlone IPAS (International Protection Accommodation Service) centre by saying it's continuing to 'prioritise' legislation to regularise the planning status of the centre for its continued use.
An ongoing High Court action being taken on behalf of four Athlone county councillors previously resulted in the State conceding that the temporary accommodation centre in Lissywollen was an unauthorised development.
At the most recent hearing in the case Ms Justice Emily Farrell directed the 32 remaining residents site must be relocated to alternative accommodation by the time the matter comes before the court again on November 7.
When contacted by the Westmeath Independent, a Department of Justice spokesperson didn't respond directly to questions about the judge's direction on relocating the remaining residents from the site in Athlone.
However, the spokesperson said that the centres such as the one in Athlone still represented an "essential" element of the Government's plans for housing international protection applicants, and that work to regularise the planning status of the local site was continuing.
"Accommodation sites such as Midlands Accommodation centre (in Athlone) remain an essential component of the Government’s strategy to develop a sustainable accommodation system that will see less reliance on commercial providers over time, ensuring better value for money for the State," said the spokesperson.
"The State has requested time to continue to progress a legislative solution to regularise the development, which the court allowed.
"The aim is to regularise the planning at this site, and to preserve this much-needed accommodation for people who the State has a legal duty to accommodate.
"The Department recently indicated to the court that the Government approved the priority drafting of the Planning and Development (Planning Status of State Sites) Amendment Bill 2025," the statement continued.
"This Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage have been working closely on developing a draft heads of a Bill to resolve this complex matter through legislation, the development and passage of which is being prioritised.
"A significant amount of work has already taken place with regard to advancing this legislation."
The spokesperson added that the High Court case remained before the courts and is due to continue on November 7.
Following the most recent hearing, on September 26, the four local councillors taking the High Court action - Frankie Keena, John Dolan, Aengus O'Rourke and Paul Hogan - described the judge's direction on the rehousing of the 32 remaining residents as "another significant win" in their High Court case which began in November.
"We look forward to the next hearing of the case where our legal team will again be requesting the making of orders for the full closure and enabling proceedings for the reinstatement of the site," the councillors said.