Councillors taking a legal challenge against an asylum development proposing to host up to 1,000 adult males in Lissywollen in Athlone say that, following today’s full High Court hearing on the matter, they feel very optimistic of a positive outcome.
The five Athlone-based representatives part of the legal challenge were councillors Paul Hogan of Independent Ireland, Aengus O’Rourke and Frankie Keena of Fianna Fáil, and Fine Gael’s Cllr John Dolan.
The legal challenge was taken on planning and environmental grounds – and last December, the State conceded the case and subsequently the site was an unauthorized development due to the Statutory Instrument being invalid. The Councillors submitted in an affidavit arguing that the proposed development would be “prejudicial to public health” as local health services are already overstretched.
Cllr. Hogan told Gript prior to the case that that every Irish council also has the legal power under statutory powers granted to local councils under the Local Government Sanitary Services Act to block “temporary dwellings” in their jurisdiction, including temporary asylum accommodation, and that citizens can lobby their local councillors to use this power.
Today’s hearing considered details of the judicial review, the State’s conceding of the case and the subsequent motion by the State for a stay on the development for a period of six months. The Councillors said they are very optimistic of a positive result and sincerely hope that justice will be served on what has already been conceded as an unlawful development.
“During the course of the hearing, it was revealed by the State that just 137 residents now live in the temporary tented accommodation,” the Councillors said. “It was argued that these residents could be moved into a better standard of accommodation without any difficulty. Expert planning and environmental opinion concluded that there is a direct pathway between the site and a Special Area of Conservation and there exists a real risk of pollution and damage to a number of environmentally protected areas, with species and habitats also at risk.”
“From a humanitarian perspective, and while recognising the right to seek international protection, the Councillors believe that it is not appropriate to ask people to stay in tented accommodation for another winter. High winds, low winter temperatures along with wet and damp conditions have already presented problems for the residents accommodated there, and on at least one occasion the residents had to be evacuated,” they added.
The State Senior Counsel advised that the promised amending legislation in regard to planning and environmental grounds was not ready for publication. “Yet again the State missed one of its agreed deadlines, this time by more than 10 days,” the Councillors said. “It was argued that the tight timeline envisaged, the lack of Dáil sitting days, the Summer recess and the complexity of the proposed development, which is likely to be challenged, ‘traps these residents in a poor standard of accommodation indefinitely’.”
The Councillors praised their legal team consisting of Oisín Collins Senior Counsel, David O’Brien BL and Patrick Cunningham of Cunningham and Co Solicitors, Dublin. Ms. Justice Emily Farrell said that she will deliver her judgement on Wednesday (25th of June) at 10.30am in the High Court.
At the outset of the legal challenge, Cllr Hogan told Gript that he had looked at the relevant planning legislation and he said that the Ministerial approval for the IPAS Centre under Section 181 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 did not apply to a function reserved to local authorities for the construction of temporary dwellings.
The motion that was proposed by Councillor Hogan – and passed by the Council states – that the Council was making 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.”
Locals had been protesting at the site of the proposed IPAS centre, with concerns being raised regarding the number of expected arrivals , and the impact of same on the community.