The State is to concede to a legal challenge against the Lissywollen Tented refugee accommodation development, the High Court has been told. Councillor Paul Hogan, backed by fellow local councillors brought the challenge against the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability and Youth over the plans to house up to 1,000 International Protection applicants at a site adjacent to an existing IPAS Centre in Athlone. The challenge was brought over claims the Minister failed to adequately screen the project for potential environmental impacts following his signing of an order earlier this year.
Following a mention of the case in the High Court yesterday, it was stated that by Oisín Collins SC, for Cllr Hogan, "the case is being conceded" by the State and that "the development will be an unauthorised development". The legal team for the State informed the court that they will take instruction from the Minister ahead of the next sitting on Thursday. Speaking to Shannonside FM News, Councillor Hogan says that the development would have had a major impact on the existing work being done locally to house refugees:
