Councillors who successfully challenged the build of an asylum centre in Lissywollen near Athlone say that the State has confirmed that all works on the site will cease today, although a final determination by the High Court on the matter will be made on January 27th.
The centre was being built to house up to 1,000 single men claiming asylum, with plans to use large tented accommodation before building modular homes, and had been the subject of ongoing protest from the local community.
Councillor Paul Hogan posited in October that a reserved function granted to county councils in a section of a 1948 Act covered in the Local Government Reform Act of 2014 meant that local authorities could override Ministerial approval for the temporary dwellings even when granted under amendments to the Planning Act passed by the government to deal with emergency asylum accommodation.
On Monday at the High Court, senior counsel Oisín Collins SC for Cllr Hogan, told the judge that “the case is being conceded” by the Minister for Integration and “the development will be classified as an unauthorised development”.
Hogan, an Independent Ireland Councillor, had the backing of Westmeath County Council in the case, although a Go Fund Me campaign was set up to fund the case. Councillors supported Hogan’s motion that the Council make an order “prohibiting the erection of temporary dwellings as it is our view that their erection is prejudicial to the amenities of the locality and interferes unreasonably with that area”.
In a statement last night, the councillors behind the challenge said that while the case had been conceded “on a narrow basis”, the State is “yet to engage with some of what we feel are our even stronger grounds for judicial review”.
The statement is signed by Mayor Frankie Keena, Cllr Aengus O’Rourke, Cllr John Dolan and Cllr Hogan.
“While we have been informed that the site will remain in operation until there is a final determination by the court, the State confirmed that all works on the site in Lissywollen will cease this Friday [December 20th],” they said.
“Accordingly the court has adjourned the matter until January 27 in order to tease this out in more detail. We welcome this decision as it now gives us a potential opportunity to have all our wider issues of concern heard in full by the High Court.”
There are “substantive environmental and planning issues that deserve further consideration”, they said.
Hogan described the win this week as a “victory for accountability, for local Government and for local communities”.
This was a “monumental and successful High Court challenge against the expedited development of IPAS accommodation at Lissywollen, Athlone,” he said. “The State’s concession of the case today marks a significant victory for accountability, proper planning and the voice of local communities.”
He added that the local representatives “took a courageous stand against the government’s decision to bypass fair procedures and impose the development through ministerial order.”
Hogan was praised by Independent Ireland for “his leadership and commitment to ensuring that the voices of the local community are heard”.
It was a victory, Hogan said, “for the people of Athlone and for fairness in governance. The process undertaken by the Minister was unlawful and ignored key environmental and planning concerns. Communities deserve better, and this result ensures their voices cannot simply be dismissed.”
In addition to the provisions of the Local Government Reform Act, Hogan’s action claimed that the Minister had failed to adequately assess the Lissywollen project for potential environmental impacts.
In his affidavit, he said that local councillors were only informed about the Government’s plan on October 7th and had “no prior consultation or communication” from the Department of Integration on the plans for the asylum centre.
He argued that one of the first direct provision centres in the State had been constructed on the site adjoining the proposed new centre since in 2001, and that Athlone had provided welcome to the occupants of that centre.
The proposed asylum centre would be “prejudicial to public health” in terms of services which were already overburdened, the affidavit said, and the additional numbers of people would “inevitably cause a significant traffic hazard and a health and safety issue” next to the site and along the road.
“The legal action highlighted critical deficiencies in the government’s approach, including inadequate screening for environmental impacts, insufficient wastewater planning, and potential traffic hazards.,” Hogan said after the State conceded its case.
“Independent Ireland emphasises that while addressing the housing needs of refugees is important, it must not come at the expense of fair procedures or the wellbeing of local communities,” the statement added.