Government plans to house asylum-seekers in so-called flotels have resurfaced with a decision to appoint a consultant to assess the suitability of sites for berthing the vessels.
An independent expert will be appointed in about a week to assess offers of berthages and evaluate the largely negative responses by port companies and harbour authorities to the floating hotels.
The consultant is expected to report to the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources within three months, according to a Department spokesman.
The use of the controversial flotels to house asylum-seekers was suggested last spring when the Government drew up proposals to reduce accommodation shortages which had reached crisis levels some six months earlier.
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr O'Donoghue, informed Ministers just before last Easter that the flotel option was on the back burner while objections from ports and harbours were dealt with.
It is understood there is currently no shortage of accommodation for asylum-seekers. An official source said the aim of the consultant's review was to get a "consistent and independent" expert opinion of all ports and harbours.
While there are no immediate plans to lease any flotels for use in Ireland, it is understood that the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform wants the flotel option to remain in reserve in case another accommodation crisis occurs.
The Department of the Marine and Natural Resources wrote last May to 22 port companies and harbour authorities seeking their opinions on the suitability of berthing flotels.
The conclusion from Dublin Port was that the use of flotels there was technically feasible, although issues about fire-fighting, onshore facilities and security were raised. It is understood that two possible sites were identified in Cork.
Other ports including Galway, Dun Laoghaire and Limerick ruled themselves out for a variety of reasons, including tidal conditions, sewage problems, berthing, fire safety and security.
In recent correspondence an official from the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources said his Department had the technical expertise to assess offers of berthages for flotels and evaluate responses from port companies and harbour authorities.
The official said it had been suggested that an independent consultant be contracted to do this work.
"We would both then have available an independent technical assessment of the suitability of available sites," he wrote to an official in the Directorate for Asylum Support Services in a letter released under the Freedom of Information Act.
"This would still leave us with potential problems arising from perhaps a reluctance to have flotels berthed long-term in port environs which might cut across commercial port business, but let's leave that problem to one side for the present and clarify technical feasibility issues."
It is understood that up to five flotels have been examined by the Marine Survey Office, an agency under the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources.
A Dublin-based shipping agency is among the companies offering the vessels.
Fire-safety advisers at the Office of Public Works and the Department of the Environment have expressed strong reservations in the past about fire safety in flotels.