Minister of State for Integration Colm Brophy has denied that the Government has provided anti-immigration protesters with a model for blocking asylum seeker accommodation after the scrapping of plans for a centre in Coolock.
Last week the Department of Justice scrapped plans to open a controversial 547-bed facility at the privately-owned former Crown Paints site in the north Dublin suburb.
The site was the scene of violent clashes last year between gardaí and protesters.
There has been Opposition criticism of the Government in the wake of the U-turn.
On Sunday, Labour MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin argued that the Government had “made a bags” of the plans to locate the accommodation centre for people seeking international protection in Coolock.
He told RTÉ radio the proposal “could have been a template for a success story” but he criticised the level of consultation with the community and said: “we felt that the protesters had more information than anybody who was trying to work with a sense of goodwill”.
“And it feels now, at this point, that the protesters effectively have won because the project has been pulled.”
In an email to local representatives last week, the Department of Justice said the prolonged nature of the proposed centre’s progress through development and planning were “significant factors” in the decision to drop the project.
“All offers of international protection accommodation are appraised according to a range of factors, including the site and its potential, value for money to the State, planning matters and any works required to meet the required standards,” the message stated.
Speaking on the same broadcast as Mr Ó Ríordáin on Sunday, Mr Brophy said he and Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan want to see the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) programme “led by having state-acquired property, state-run, IPAS centres”.
He said that “in the long run” it is a “process that will actually be good for the taxpayer”.
Mr Brophy also said: “We will still have a requirement for IPAS centres” and added: “we do learn from every experience, and particularly around things like community engagement”.
Put to him that the U-turn on the Coolock site has provided a model for those opposed to such centres elsewhere, Mr Brophy replied: “No, because that won’t actually work.
“What is actually important to remember is that we have many, many IPAS centres operating right around the country.
“We have very good community buy-in, and we have communities and people who are in IPAS centres, working together, coming together, regarding themselves as part of a greater or more integrated community.”
Mr Brophy added: “We have a model, we believe, through our community engagement team – and through the work that myself and Minister O’Callahan want to do in this area to make sure that we will have a programme which has also got a very good state-owned and state run facilities.
“And I think that’s going to be part of making the operation of IPAS a success.”
On Saturday The Irish Times reported that the Government is planning a significant expansion of asylum seeker accommodation at Dublin’s Citywest Hotel as it closes in on a purchase of the facility worth at least €100 million.
The hotel has been a cornerstone of the State’s response to a surge in migration, with Government sources now saying the final steps are being taken towards a purchase of the 764-bedroom hotel, which has been expected since before Christmas.
It is believed that if the plan is put in place, it will potentially lead to a doubling of the capacity there – with indications that up to 1,000 more people could be accommodated.
Cabinet is expected to consider the purchase, possibly as soon as Tuesday.
