Plans to open Thornton Hall, a State-owned site in north Co Dublin, as accommodation for up to 1,000 male asylum seekers face further delays following an application to the courts by some local residents to halt the project.
The setback comes as latest figures show almost 2,900 asylum seekers are homeless, and falling temperatures and darker nights increase concerns for their welfare.
In a statement to The Irish Times the Department of Children and Integration said: “Works to prepare the site at Thornton Hall as an accommodation centre began on August 14th. Works have paused on the site due to a matter that is currently before the courts. We hope to be able to recommence work on the site, and begin accommodating people as soon as possible.”
It is understood judicial review proceedings were lodged in recent days seeking to quash a ministerial order to allow a portion of the site to be used as an accommodation centre and for works to begin. It is understood department officials are working on a fresh ministerial order to overcome the hurdle.
Plans to provide shelter for international protection applicants (IPA) at the 160-acre site in north Co Dublin, first mooted in May, met with protests outside the site in August as preparatory works got under way. The department had said in May it was engaging closely with the Department of Justice and the Irish Prison Service, which own the land, to “bring this accommodation on stream in the near future”.
In August, following the ministerial order and commencement of works, the department said the first 40 asylum seekers would be housed on-site in six tents that month. This number was expected to increase to 400 by October and to 1,000 by the end of the year.
Some workers engaged in preparatory works faced alleged threats amid anti-immigration protests outside the site that month, as a number of local councillors, including from Fine Gael, called for plans to be halted as the local community in nearby Coolquay had not been adequately briefed.
Early last month the department said the first asylum seekers would move on to the site during October. When The Irish Times visited the site on Thursday it was deserted, with no sign of activity from the road outside.
Formerly farmland and located between Kilsallaghan and Coolquay and near the Co Meath border, Thornton Hall was purchased by the State in 2004/05 with the intention of building a new “super-prison”. That project was not progressed and the site has lain idle since.
This further delay to accommodating single, male asylum seekers comes as figures show as of Friday there were 2,831 asylum seekers “awaiting offer of accommodation” – an increase of 23 since Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the department said on Friday: “The department continues to work hard to find, develop and open suitable accommodation sites so that we can offer appropriate and safe accommodation to all people applying for international protection. This is being done against a backdrop of high demand and significant accommodation shortages, and a current total of 2,800 international protection applicants that we have been unable to accommodate during 2024.
“As part of the Government’s comprehensive accommodation strategy, accommodation centres, like the one at Thornton Hall and Midlands accommodation centre [near Athlone] are being developed and brought into use to address the shortages.”
