DUBLIN, Ireland: The Dublin High Court has ruled that the fast-track process used to approve a controversial asylum accommodation centre in Athlone was flawed and must be quashed.
However, the court has delayed the enforcement of its order for four months, after which the site will be considered an unauthorised development if no corrective action is taken.
This week, Justice Emily Farrell was informed by Aoife Carroll SC, representing the State, that the centre — which was intended to house up to 1,000 asylum seekers — is now vacant. Carroll requested the four-month stay to allow time for new legislation to address the legal error.
The proposed centre, located behind an existing direct provision facility at Lissywollen, had sparked protests over plans to use up to 150 army tents for temporary accommodation.
Last December, Westmeath councillor Paul Hogan and others successfully argued that the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth had failed to properly assess the project's environmental impact. They also contended that the minister lacked the expertise to conduct such evaluations under the expedited process.
The State conceded the legal challenge brought by five local councillors, which questioned the legality of the minister's use of a statutory instrument — a form of secondary legislation — to fast-track the project.
Government lawyers argued that there was a "serious risk to the dignity and safety" of asylum seekers if emergency powers were not available to accelerate the accommodation process. Carroll said that while EU law requirements had technically been met, they were not adequately recorded, amounting to an "error." She added that the government acted under emergency circumstances.
In her judgment, Justice Farrell confirmed that she would grant costs to Cllr Hogan's side, represented by Oisín Collins SC, up to July 25.
Carroll informed the court that a new bill would soon be presented to the Cabinet to fix the legislative flaw in the statutory instrument, though she acknowledged the process would take time. She said the Athlone facility remains unused but is under security watch. Without the stay, she warned, the site would immediately become an unauthorised development, potentially triggering more legal disputes.
Collins, representing the councillors, argued that it would be "highly unusual" if the public were prevented from submitting formal objections to the project. He criticised the government's proposed legislative fix as "amorphous" and "constantly changing," suggesting that the minister was "struggling to find a solution."
Hogan and his fellow councillors — Frankie Keena and Aengus O'Rourke of Fianna Fáil, and John Dolan of Fine Gael — said their case raised legitimate concerns that resulted in a significant legal victory.
Cllr Hogan, who ran as an Independent Ireland candidate in Longford–Westmeath and received 4.8 percent of first-preference votes, had argued that the ministerial fast-track process was "unlawful, irrational, and a breach of fair procedures."
