The Government has conceded a High Court challenge brought by a local councillor against a plan to house around 1,000 male asylum seekers in Athlone.
At the High Court, Oisin Collins SC, for Cllr Paul Hogan, told Mr Justice Richard Humphreys that "the case is being conceded" by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability and Youth and that "the development will be an unauthorised development".
Ms Aoife Carroll SC, for the State, said that the case was due to be heard on Thursday of this week but that now the matter could be put in for mention on the same date.
Ms Carroll said she would take instruction from the Minister in the matter before Thursday.
In his challenge, Mr Hogan, who secured 4.8 per cent of first preference votes running for Independent Ireland in Longford-Westmeath in the recent General Election, claimed the ministerial process providing for the plan was unlawful, irrational and a breach of fair procedures.
A fundraising website, which amassed over €50K in donations, said the challenge was being brought on behalf of Mr Hogan and four other Athlone-based representatives, including freshly re-elected independent TD Kevin 'Boxer' Moran and councillors Frankie Keena and Aengus O’Rourke of Fianna Fáil and John Dolan of Fine Gael.
Protests were held in Athlone over the plan to develop army-tent accommodation for 1,000 asylum seekers, in up to 150 tents, on a site to the rear of an existing direct provision centre in Lissywollen, Athlone. It had been proposed that the tents would eventually be replaced with modular units.
Mr Hogan’s legal papers relied on similar grounds to one recently brought by a north Dublin group that secured a strike-down of a statutory instrument that had paved the way for 1,000 international protection applicants on a State-owned site near Dublin Airport.
Minister for Integration Roderick O’Gorman contested Mr Hogan’s case.
Mr Hogan wanted an order either pausing or quashing the statutory instrument the Minister made for the Athlone site.
The instrument confirmed the project did not need An Bord Pleanála approval and noted Mr O’Gorman was satisfied two specific EU law environmental assessments did not need to be conducted before proceeding with the plan.
Mr Hogan claimed the Minister failed to adequately screen the project for potential environmental impacts and that he lacks the expertise to carry out such assessments. There were also deficiencies in the assessment of wastewater requirements and effect on traffic, Mr Hogan claimed.
He claimed the occupants would be free to move about and will “inevitably cause a significant traffic hazard and a health and safety issue” next to the site and along the road.
In an affidavit, Mr Hogan said local councillors were informed about the Government’s plan on October 7th and had “no prior consultation or communication” from the Department of Integration.
He submitted that Athlone has a long tradition of providing accommodation and support to people seeking international protection, with one of the first direct provision centres in the State constructed on the adjoining Lissywollen site in 2001.
Mr Hogan submitted that he and other members of Westmeath County Council believed the proposed development would be “prejudicial to public health” as local health services are already overburdened.
