According to the High Court, the State has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a local council member against a hastened plan to accommodate over 1,000 applicants for international protection in Athlone, reports RTE.
Cllr. Paul Hogan’s attorney, OisÃn Collins SC, informed Mr. Justice Richard Humphreys in the High Court that “the development will be an unauthorised development” and that “the case is being conceded” by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, and Youth.
The State’s Ms. Aoife Carroll SC stated that although the case was scheduled to be heard on Thursday, it might now be mentioned on the same day, reports RTE.
Before Thursday, Ms. Carroll promised to follow the Minister’s instructions.
Mr. Hogan, an Independent Ireland councillor, argued in his appeal that the ministerial process that produced the proposal was illegal, illogical, and a violation of fair processes.
There were four additional members from Athlone involved in the court challenge: councillors Frankie Keena and Aengus O’Rourke of Fianna Fáil, John Dolan of Fine Gael, and recently re-elected independent TD Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran.
The proposal to provide housing for 1,000 international protection applicants in up to 150 tents on the back of an existing direct provision facility at Lissywollen, Athlone, sparked protests in the city, reports RTE.
It had been suggested that modular modules will ultimately take the place of the tents.
The arguments used in Mr. Hogan’s legal documents were identical to those previously raised by a group in north Dublin that succeeded in striking down a legislative instrument that had opened the door for 1,000 applications for international protection on a State-owned property close to Dublin Airport, reports RTE.
Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Integration, disputed Mr. Hogan’s claim.
Mr. Hogan requested that the Minister’s statutory instrument for the Athlone site be either halted or revoked.
The document said that Mr. O’Gorman was satisfied that two particular environmental evaluations required by EU legislation did not need to be carried out before moving forward with the proposal, and it reaffirmed that the project did not require An Bord Pleanála approval, reports RTE.
According to Mr. Hogan, the Minister did not sufficiently assess the project’s possible environmental effects.
According to Mr. Hogan, there were also flaws in the evaluation of the wastewater requirements and impact on traffic.
He asserted that the residents would have unrestricted mobility and would “inevitably cause a significant traffic hazard and a health and safety issue” alongside the property and along the road, reports RTE.
According to Mr. Hogan’s declaration, local council members had “no prior consultation or communication” from the Department of Integration before being notified of the government’s intention on October 7.
He said that one of the first direct provision facilities in the State was built on the nearby Lissywollen property in 2001, demonstrating Athlone’s long history of housing and assisting those seeking international protection, reports RTE.
The proposed development, according to Mr. Hogan and other Westmeath County Council members, would be “prejudicial to public health” since local health facilities are already overworked.
Speaking this evening, Mr. Hogan, the case’s plaintiff, stated that this is a positive beginning and that more specific information will become available in the days ahead.
The case demonstrates that “the state can’t just run roughshod over a community without consulting with the democratic process,” according to Fianna Fáil councillor Aengus O’Rourke, reports RTE.
He said that he hopes “they are listening” and that it sends a clear message to the government.
“Working together” demonstrated what council members could do, Mr. Dolan said, while Mr. Keena praised the local community for their support, reports RTE.
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