More than half of the asylum seekers living at a controversial emergency centre in Athlone have been offered alternative accommodation, the High Court has heard.
Senior counsel for the Government Aoife Carroll on Monday told Ms Justice Emily Farrell that 125 people remain at the Lissywollen site but 70 have received offers of alternative placements and they should accept these by next week.
Last month Ms Carroll told the court there were 137 people housed at the facility but the figure was dropping as alternative places were being sought.
The issue is before the High Court due to a legal case taken by Independent Ireland councillor Paul Hogan, representing the Athlone-Moate district. He successfully applied to the court last December arguing the State’s move to expedite use of the site for this purpose was unlawful.
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Cllr Hogan claimed the Minister failed to adequately “screen” the project for potential environmental impacts and that the Minister lacked the expertise to carry out such assessments in such an expedited manner.
The State has conceded in court that its statutory instrument facilitating fast-track construction of the facility was “invalid”. It says it is working to repair relevant legislation.
Protests have been held in Athlone over the plan to develop army-tent accommodation for up to 1,000 asylum seekers.
Last month, Ms Justice Farrell said she would defer her judgment quashing the use of the statutory instrument to develop the emergency accommodation in Athlone.
She said she wanted to wait for updates and to see draft legislation from the Oireachtas.
On Monday Ms Carroll said the department is continuing to work to reduce the number of people at the facility but faces “significant pressure” on the system.
On repairing the legislation, Ms Carroll said “significant work” has been done on part of the issue but “we have not made the progress hoped”.
Ms Carroll again asked the court to refrain from making final orders in the matter. She asked it to maintain the status quo pending the legislation, which will hopefully go before the Dáil in November.
Ms Justice Farrell adjourned the matter to next week but warned she cannot keep deferring final orders when the Government has had “ample opportunity” to put legislation before the Dáil.
David O’Brien, barrister for Cllr Hogan, said the Government giving “loose dates” has been “a regrettable motif” in the case.
Any November date for the legislation to come before the Dáil, which was indicated to the court in May, was initially “unrealistic”.
“Now it is at the point of untenable,” said Mr O’Brien, and his client is left “without a modicum of explanation”.
