Inhabitants of Thornton Hall, which will house the largest housing complex for applications for international protection in the State with around 1,000 inhabitants, have requested further information regarding the building of the centre from communities in sections of north Co Dublin and Meath, reports RTE.
Politicians and locals have criticised the Department of Integration for not communicating with neighbouring communities about the development in a meaningful way, and some have even warned that a lack of information is encouraging misinformation.
However, the Department claims that as part of its new strategy for offering accommodations to applicants for international protection, it has had lengthy discussions regarding the development, reports RTE.
Located near the Meath border in north County Dublin, between Kilsallaghan and Coolquay, is a 150-acre old farmstead known as Thornton Hall.
It was first brought to the public’s notice nearly 20 years ago in 2005 when the State paid multiples of its market value—€30 million—to buy it.
The overcrowded Mountjoy Prison will be replaced by a mega prison, according to the Department of Justice.
An further €11 million was invested in preparation for building, but nothing came of it, and the land remained undeveloped for over twenty years, reports RTE.
Nonetheless, Roderic O’Gorman, the Minister for Integration, utilised a ministerial directive this past week to start building an accomodation complex on the property.
By the end of September, he claims, Thornton Hall would have 40 candidates for international protection housed there.
By January 2025, it will have risen to just under 1,000, making it the largest international protection site in the State. It will reach 440 in October and November.
“The site has been chosen because it’s State land. It has been owned by the Department of Justice for decades now and hasn’t been put to good use and a core part of the new accommodation strategy is we need to move away from relying on private commercial providers, and actually use State land to allow us more quickly, more effectively and on a more cost effective basis, bring accommodation online,” reports RTE.
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