Council 'not aware' of any plans for St Aloysius College site in Athlone

Westmeath County Council said last week that it's not aware of any plans for the former St Aloysius College site in Athlone to be used as an accommodation centre.

In early December, it emerged that the former secondary school was being considered for possible use in accommodating people arriving from Ukraine,

At that stage, a spokesperson for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said it "received an offer of accommodation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) at St Aloysius College, Athlone, Co. Westmeath.

"The offer is under consideration; therefore, no further information can be provided at this time," the spokesperson said.

During last week's meeting of Westmeath County Council, Cllr Paul Hogan mentioned the St Aloysius College site and said he was being asked a lot of questions about it.

He was told it had been identified as a potential building for temporary protection accommodation two years ago, but had not progressed beyond that stage.

Director of Services, Jackie Finney, said that in the early stages of the war in Ukraine in 2022, when the council was asked to identify buildings for temporary protection use, there was an initial analysis carried out and St Aloysius College was "on the tracker" for possible use.

However, she added that a lot of properties had never progressed past that initial identification stage, and that the council was not aware of any current plans for the site.

The Westmeath Independent recently asked the Department for an update on the St Aloysius site, and was told it would not be commenting on any premises unless a contract had been signed for its use in providing accommodation.

"The Department can only confirm use of a premises once a contract has been signed, and will, in the first instance, inform local public representatives and statutory agencies through its Community Engagement Team," the spokesperson said.