Two applications for the accommodation of “persons seeking international protection under the IPAS” scheme in separate premises at Durrow were registered with Laois County Council on July 2.
They are for Lennon’s Bar in Mary Street and Peadar’s Bar in Mary Street. The applicant in both cases is Marc Lennon. The proposal is to accommodate IPAS applicants by replacing the existing bar in Lennon’s with ten bedrooms, kitchen, laundry, and a “communal living area.” Peadar’s Bar will have accommodation for an unstated number in eight bedrooms and a proposed single storey extension with three bedrooms.
Marc Lennon is the owner of the site of Lennon’s Bar with a mortgage from Pepper Finance and Peadar’s Bar is owned by his sister Niamh.
An earlier application for Lennon’s Bar had been submitted in April 2024. The bar had ceased trading in 2023 and was vacant. That application was for “change of use of the existing bar on the ground floor and private accommodation on the first floor for use as a guesthouse/hostel on both ground and first floor.” There was no reference in that to accommodation for asylum seekers.
That was given approval by the Laois planning authority on October 30, 2024. One of the conditions was that the development had to be as outlined in the application which was in compliance with the Laois County Development Plan and that it complied with the particulars outlined in the application. The decision to opt instead for asylum seekers requires the new application.
The section of the planners report from last September (below) which led to the approval of the application for a guesthouse/hostel is worth reading. It clearly states that approval was being granted solely for the purpose outlined and there are a substantial number of documents related to environmental and other conditions pertaining to the original application.
It was clearly a detailed process and yet the applicant now states that he did not proceed with plans for a guesthouse. He has now submitted a new application as the Council required that a new permission would have to be applied for, “notwithstanding the exempted development provisions of the Local Government (Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended).”
That is worth pondering as in most cases a developer can simply notify the local planning authority of a wish to claim an exemption for an existing premises to be used as asylum accommodation. These are generally accepted as a matter of course so the Laois planner’s decision is unusual.
In submitting their new application for an IPAS centre RW Nowlan and Associates, on behalf of Marc Lennon, noted that the premises was never actually used as a guesthouse and hostel and that they were applying for a Section 5 exemption because the planning authority had been apparently unsure about whether it might be an exempted development and that if it was the intention to instal an IPAS centre that a new application had to be made.
That appears to have run into some difficulties as the Council informed Lennon on July 3 that the application contained a spelling error as “July is spelt incorrect” on the site notice and that a new application must be submitted.
The application for Peadar’s Bar from Marc Lennon was also notified as invalid on Monday this week as there was no blue outline on the site notice to indicate ownership of land. In that application Lennon had noted that the premises was already accommodating Ukrainian refugees and that it was proposed to add the new rooms to take in IPAS applicants.
Commenting on the application Independent Councillor Aidan Mullins said that it was another example of an attempt to turn former hospitality premises into asylum accommodation centres that bring no benefit to the local community and which lead to social divisions. This has a major impact on services and on the provision of housing.
Councillor Mullins claimed that the transformation of former hospitality businesses across the state was now a “huge business” which was earning vast amounts of money for the owners and contractors who are involved. He pointed out that “Minister Jim O’Callaghan himself has recognised that more than 80% of people who apply for international protection are found to have no basis for remaining here.
“And yet small rural communities are expected to pay host to disproportionate numbers of such applicants who are housed in IPAS centres with no benefit to the local community and often the cause of local divisions and disruption.”
In relation to the two applications for Durrow the fact that the applications have been recorded as incomplete and are now back with the owner and his agent for reapplication means that local people may still make submissions to Laois County Council outlining their view, favourable or otherwise, regarding the proposal.
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