Tented camp mooted at Athlone asylum seeker site

The Government is considering the possibility of using tented accommodation in order to increase capacity at Athlone's asylum seeker accommodation centre in Lissywollen.

Tented facilities have been set up in certain parts of the country in recent weeks, after a rise in international arrivals to Ireland left little to no capacity available in the State's existing accommodation centres.

One such tented facility was put in place at Gormanston military camp, in Meath, for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. Another is being developed for asylum seekers, formally known as international protection applicants, at the Knockalisheen direct provision site near Limerick.

RTÉ's Drivetime programme reported that Athlone's direct provision centre, which is on State-owned land next to the Department of Education, is another location where tented accommodation could be used.

In response to a query last week from RTÉ reporter John Cooke, a spokesperson for Minister Roderic O'Gorman said the list of State-owned centres at which tented facilities could be erected was still being finalised, but that it "may include the State-owned site in Athlone."

The Westmeath Independent sent questions to Minister O'Gorman's Department for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth of Ireland on Monday in relation to the possible use of tented facilities at Lissywollen. At the time of going to press, we had not yet received a response.

The Department stated last week that tented facilities would be put in place at some State-owned direct provision centres “to provide short-term emergency accommodation to international protection applicants while additional capacity is being sourced.”

It said the tented facility being put in place at Knockaslisheen, near Limerick, would see approximately 100 international protection applicants being accommodated. It’s understood that each tent typically accommodates around eight beds.

The use of tented accommodation has been criticised by the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland.

Its spokesperson, Bulelani Mfaco, said there was concern about how long these tented facilities may be in use.

“We’ve seen in other countries that use tents to accommodate asylum seekers and refugees that conditions tend to deteriorate very quickly and people get very frustrated when they don’t know how long they’re going to be stuck in those tents with no privacy whatsoever,” he commented.

He pointed out that the existing direct provision system in Ireland had been criticised as inhumane by human rights bodies, but that the use of tented accommodation was even worse.

“We’re coming up to the end of summer, and when winter begins it’s going to be a nightmare for people,” he said.

As of February 13 last, there were 251 people being accommodation in Athlone’s direct provision centre in Lissywollen, but it’s believed that this figure has risen since then.

As of mid-May, Minister O’Gorman’s Department contracted apartments in the Willow Park area of Athlone, which were previously used for student accommodation, in order to house asylum seekers on a six-month basis.

As of the beginning of July, the contracted apartments in Willow Park were full to capacity, with 95 international protection applicants being accommodated there.