One of the fruits of the enhanced scrutiny of the way in which asylum accommodation centres came to be, is that large numbers of same have been found not to have even followed the basic and promiscuous conditions that are in place under the ‘emergency’ planning regulations, amendments and Statutory Instruments.
Unfortunately, even where it has been revealed that the proper procedures have not been followed – Citywest being the most glaring example – the State and the contractors mostly carry on regardless. There are rare occasions where the Courts have ruled against the continuance of authorised centres, but they are rare.
The major such ruling to date has been the High Court order to shut down the large IPAS centre at Lissywollen. The key there was that the case, initiated by Councillor Paul Hogan, secured the full backing of Westmeath County Council which had found that the centre was in breach of local planning regulations.
Where such political backing is absent, even a local authority refusal to approve an IPAS exemption is not sufficient and the contractors providing asylum services have carried on regardless. They are usually reliant on the backing of the State which has granted and retained the contract even in the face of enforcement orders.
A prime example of this being Ryevale House in Leixlip which has been in use as an IPAS centre since 2023 despite the decision by Kildare County Council that it was not exempted development – and despite the local authority issuing enforcement proceedings. I understand that the contract with Me Libérer is due for renewal in March 2026 so it is timely to examine why exactly it continues to operate.
On the face of it the IPAS centre at Ryevale House ought to have been closed not long after it opened – without any proper permission, but with the license of a Departmental contract to supply its services. A piece of paper which, we have seen in numerous other cases, would appear to trump any other consideration.
RYEVALE RESIDENTS
The Ryevale Lawns Residents Association – their homes are built around Ryevale House on what used to be the lands attached to the building – have repeatedly sought to bring the facts regarding the status of the centre to the attention of the State.
They reiterated all of those facts in a letter sent to the Department of Justice on November 23 last. Their lengthy document, which I have read, rehearses all of the facts related to Ryevale House and its continued unauthorised use.
All that the residents desire is that these facts are taken into consideration before any decision is made on renewing the contract in March. To date they have not even received the courtesy of a reply from the Department.
Not least of the points made in the document sent by the Ryevale Lawns Residents’ Association is the fact that the Department continues to fall back on what the Ryevale residents describe as “misinformation” regarding the permissions – namely the contractor’s word regarding planning permission and exemption.
That was confirmed as long ago as April 2023 when former Social Democrats leader and local TD Catherine Murphy elicited from then Minister Roderic O’Gorman the admission that he had relied on the assurance from Me Libérer that the IPAS centre did not require planning permission:
O’Gorman informed Deputy Murphy that “It is important to note that the provider has advised the Department that in the opinion of their planning consultant, the change of the property’s use to provide accommodation for international protection applicants does not amount to a material change of use and that planning permission is not required.”.
Which was quite extraordinary given that Kildare County Council not only decided that permission was required and was not granted; but in May 2023 issued enforcement proceedings to Ronan Mallon, Ronan Holbrook, Daire Turner and Patrick Ward to ensure that Ryevale House revert to “single occupancy.”
€7.5 MILLION FROM TAXPAYER
When Me Libérer later sought a retention order to retain the premises in use as an IPAS centre that too was refused by Kildare County Council – and they were backed by An Bord Pleanála in that decision in November 2024. Yet the centre continues to be used and continues to earn large sums of taxpayer money for the company and its associates.
Since it secured the contract, Me Libérer has drawn down €7.5 million in taxpayer money paid through the Department of Integration. The company bought the 18th century house for €1.6 million in 2022 so they have well recouped their initial investment with State money that far outstrips any income that it might have taken in as a hotel or any other sort of normal enterprise.
The sole owner of Me Libérer, which was established shortly before the purchase of Ryevale House, is now a chap called Ronan Holbrook. However, the property developer Ronan Mallon was generally believed to have bought the building and he, Holbrook, Turner and Ward were believed by Kildare County Council to be the principals involved when they issued the enforcement proceedings in 2023.
Daire Turner is an accountant based in Wexford and has other interests in the asylum accommodation business through a company called Laupteen which has the contract for My Place in Gardiner Street, Dublin and which is owned by Femida which in turn is owned by DNH House Unlimited which is ultimately owned by Shenick Holdings.
Patrick Ward, otherwise Paddy the Barber, is the former owner of DNH Holdings. Ward is also the owner of CDK Properties which applied for an asylum accommodation centre in Sherrard Street in early 2025. That application was backed by a letter confirming that Ward had a contract with the Department.
In April 2024, the Irish Daily Mail published an article on how the still active barber had managed to accrue an impressive portfolio of properties that were linked to the provision of asylum or other emergency accommodation.
One of the many mysteries of the multi-billion Euro phenomenon that the asylum sector has become. One of the collateral mysteries being how Ryevale House continues to operate under IPAS given its complete lack of any planning permission. A question that Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan must again consider as its contract comes up for renewal in the coming weeks.