Restoration work to start at former Athlone IPAS site
A contractor has been appointed by Department of Justice to begin restoring the site of a former International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre in Athlone to its previous condition.
The controversial temporary IPAS centre in Lissywollen was originally designed to cater for up to 1,000 male international protection applicants, but was closed last year on foot of a successful High Court challenge brought by four Athlone councillors.
The site is now expected to be restored to its previous condition by January, which would bring to an end a saga that began two years ago next month.
It was in October 2024 the Department announced that it was setting up the new accommodation facility for up to 1,000 asylum seekers on a site next to the town's long-established direct provision centre. The first residents moved into the temporary accommodation before the end of 2024.
A statement issued last week on behalf of the Department's community engagement team said it had given notice last November that the emergency accommodation infrastructure at the site was being "decommissioned".
It said a tendering process had since been carried out for a contractor to "complete remediation works" at the site, and the chosen contractor was now in place.
The planned works include the replacement of existing fencing, "site clearing and general minor sundry demolition work", the "excavation and disposal off-site of all imported stone filling" and "removal of redundant underground services".
The contractor will also be carrying out a "cultivation of all reinstated areas allowing species to recolonise from the seed bank".
The community engagement team said the works are expected to begin this month and to continue until January 2027.
In a statement this week, the four councillors who brought the High Court challenge against the temporary IPAS centre, Paul Hogan, Frankie Keena, Aengus O'Rourke and John Dolan, welcomed the update on the site's restoration.
"In late 2024, we embarked upon a legal challenge on planning and environmental grounds. We were completely vindicated by Justice Emily Farrell's ruling on the case," a joint statement from the councillors said.
"Following the successful legal challenge, Westmeath County Council commenced enforcement on the unauthorised development.
"The statement from the community engagement team indicates that significant works are required to reinstate the site. The expected completion date of these works is January 2027. We will continue to monitor the situation to ensure the deadline is achieved," the councillors said.
They added that they were "looking forward to drawing a line under" the IPAS issue.
They also reiterated their intention to distribute any leftover funds from the €52,000 that was donated by the public, in support of their legal challenge, to local charities.
"Upon full completion, we will be redistributing any surplus money raised for the legal challenge to the previously identified charity groups," they said.
"We are currently reviewing the zoning for this site. We are also asking questions in relation to the total cost to the taxpayer in relation to this site.
"We thank the public for their ongoing support in relation to this issue," the councillors' statement concluded.