Westmeath Minister says there are no plans for 400 more asylum seekers in Athlone

A national media report today stated there are plans from the Government to develop additional asylum seeker accommodation facilities in various part of the country, one of which would be a site in Athlone which would have capacity for 400 male asylum seekers.

However, local Government Minister Peter Burke has responded to the report today by denying the Government has plans for such facilities in Westmeath.

The Irish Independent article today is headlined, 'New towns for migrant camps identified nationwide as Dublin's Grand Canal tents cleared for third time this month'.

The story states that "migrants arriving in Dublin are to be moved to a number of new camps across the country as part of an effort to reduce pressure on the city".

It states that "a secret memo" showed the locations of these new camps, one of which would be an unnamed site in Athlone, for 400 men, while another would be Columb Barracks in Mullingar where "more than 200 men will be housed at prefab units that will replace tents" in the closed barracks.

Minister Peter Burke's office responded to the report this afternoon, saying: "There is no 'new strategy' as suggested in the reporting this morning. No new arrivals are due at either (Westmeath) location mentioned."

The Minister's office said the memo cited in the Irish Independent story "was a briefing update provided to Ministers on the use of State-owned sites already in use, previously used, or in the case of Thornton Hall, being prepared for use.

"This information is in the public domain and not new," he added.

The Minister also said that "no new decisions were taken on foot of the update provided, and Government will continue to engage with public representatives where accommodation is brought into use".

"We have contacted the Taoiseach’s office directly on this, and it remains the case that Thornton Hall is the only identified site at present where large-scale capacity is being developed," the email from Minister Burke's office concluded.

The Westmeath Independent contacted the Department of Children, Equality, Disability Integration and Youth with questions in relation to the report today, but at the time of writing we had not yet received a response.

Two Athlone councillors have so far issued statements on the matter, with Cllr Paul Hogan (Independent Ireland) stating this morning that the report had caused "huge concern" locally.

"The absolute lack of communication on this issue has raised concern in a number of areas in Athlone.

"Many feel that services are already under huge strain and pressure. Westmeath currently has the longest waiting time to access a GP, in just over 2 weeks, with many accessing GP services in neighbouring counties.

"Athlone is the only location on the list (in the Irish Independent report) that remains an unnamed site. This is also causing a lot of concern.

"Westmeath currently has nearly 2,000 international protection applicants (IPAs) and beneficiaries of temporary protection (BOTPs) combined.

"A further 600 in the county would see approximately 1,750 being accommodated in the Athlone district. This is having a huge impact on services.

"The people of Athlone are now seeking answers, which I believe they are entitled to."

Fianna Fáil's Cllr Frankie Keena also said that if the report of an additional 400 asylum seekers to be accommodated in Athlone was correct, he would have serious concerns about it.

"As it stands, Athlone hosts approximately 2,000 people representing both international protection applicants and beneficiaries of temporary protection. These figures are extremely high relative to Athlone's population," said Cllr Keena.

"We are already integrating, sharing our resources and embracing these citizens as they flee persecution and war from their homelands.

"Schools have graciously opened their doors to these children, sporting organisations have embraced new memberships, and many are presently working and thus contributing to the local economy in Athlone. I commend our local community for such engagement.

"Unfortunately, if the Government goes ahead with locating 400 males into the town, the potential impact is going to be very difficult on those above mentioned 2,000 people already in Athlone, as they continue to try to integrate into the local community.

"As a community, we need to be left to focus on helping these people already here," he said.

"We are already at breaking point with huge strains on our scarce resources."

He concluded that if the proposal in relation to Athlone was true, it "needs to be immediately cancelled".