'All residents now moved' from controversial Athlone IPAS centre

The Athlone councillors involved in the ongoing High Court case against the State over the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre in Lissywollen this week said they understand that all remaining residents have now been moved from the site.

It appears some tented facilities which were used to provide services to residents at the centre have also been disassembled in recent weeks.

Cllr Paul Hogan said he understood that two large tents had been taken down at the site.

“We are aware that the site is empty of residents,” he said. “We understand the two tents that were taken down were a tent with shower facilities and another which stored washing machines, dryers, and things like that.”

Cllr Hogan, along with councillors Aengus O’Rourke, Frankie Keena and John Dolan, has been engaged in a High Court action against the State over the Athlone centre for close to a year now.

A joint statement from the four councillors earlier today (Tuesday) said they hadn’t received official notification of the removal of residents and some tented facilities from the site.

“Our information is purely based on observation. We would expect to receive something official in relation to this in the coming days. We are considering all avenues open to us up to and including looking at this from a European lens,” they stated.

Last December, the State conceded that the Athlone centre was an unauthorised development.

When the matter was last before the court, in September, Ms Justice Emily Farrell directed that 32 international protection applicants who remained at the site at that stage should be moved to alternative accommodation before the case comes to court again on November 7.

“We, like everyone else, are an interested party in terms of seeing where it goes next,” Cllr Hogan said.

“The fact of the matter is that the State has conceded it’s an unauthorised development. We’re aware that (the Government) are looking at legislation (to regularise the centre) but that’s a very complex process and we could be a number of years away from that at the moment.

“What is the message that the Government is sending out here in terms of unauthorised development? It should be that the law applies universally and not just to private individuals. It should apply to everyone across the board.”

Earlier this month, the Department of Justice said centres such as the one in Lissywollen remained an “essential” part of its plans and that it was ‘prioritising’ legislation to regularise the planning status of the Athlone centre for continued use.

We contacted the Department this week with questions about the removal of residents and some tented facilities from the site, but at the time of writing we have not yet received a response.