Six sites across the country have been earmarked for migrants arriving here, in a bid to take pressure off Dublin. The government also plans to open a new asylum-processing centre outside the capital. A new strategy to house hundreds of migrants arriving in Dublin will see centres opened in the likes of Kerry, Westmeath and Athlone.
The plans include prefab units for 200 people at a former military barracks in Mullingar and space for 400 at a site in Athlone. In Dublin, capacity at Crooksling is to be doubled according to the Irish Independent while around a hundred asylum seekers will be housed in Ballyogan in the coming days.
The plan also includes the use of Thornton Hall in north Dublin, that's expected to be operational in the coming weeks. The paper also reports a new International Protection Office is to be opened outside of Dublin.