Large turnout for public meeting opposing Athlone refugee accommodation project

There was a large turnout at a public meeting in Athlone's Radisson Blu Hotel on Tuesday night, which was organised in opposition to plans to accommodate 1,000 male asylum seekers on a site in the Lissywollen area

Approximately 300 people were in attendance at the meeting, which was organised by a group called Athlone Stands Together.

Athlone Mayor Cllr Frankie Keena was among those who addressed the gathering and he told the Westmeath Independent there was a lot of annoyance and concern in the air on the night.

The Athlone Moate Municipal District is currently awaiting legal advice on whether or not it can take out an injunction to stop the ongoing work to develop the site in Lissywollen for the new residents.

"What came across to me at the meeting was that people were very frustrated this development is still moving ahead while we are awaiting legal advice on taking out this injunction," said Cllr Keena.

"I am getting a lot of phonecalls from people right throughout the town, and into rural areas, asking what this is about and saying that Athlone doesn't have the services to be able to cope with it.

"That's the message that's coming through from people, and I would share those concerns," said Cllr Keena.

"I've always stated that Athlone has opened its doors down through the years to help migrants coming into the town.

"The direct provision site opened in Athlone in 2001, and a lot of the people who came in have integrated into the town, they're working, their children are in the schools, they're involved in sports, and that type of thing. But family units, and smaller numbers, are easier to integrate.

"The concern here is the one gender coming in. And it's not just because they're coming from different parts of the world - as one person said on the night, if 1,000 adult males from different parts of Ireland were coming to one site there would be questions asked about that as well."

Cllr Keena said the legal advice being awaited by the Municipal District on taking out an injunction was expected very soon, and that local councillors would likely be meeting to discuss it - possibly this coming Monday - once it has been received.

A statement issued on behalf of the Athlone Stands Together group about Tuesday's meeting said: "We feel it went in the right direction in what we are trying to do, which is to raise awareness for our town, us people, our overstretched and very limited services such as doctors, schools, creches, and waiting lists for any appointments already.

"The people of Athlone stood together to raise their concerns about the ongoing work for the new IPA (international protection applicant) centre currently being built within Athlone."

The statement added that the meeting had been addressed by councillors Frankie Keena and Paul Hogan, general election candidate and former councillor Louise Heavin, and Margaret Maguire, who contested the European elections for the Ireland First party earlier this year.

On its 'Athlone Stands Together' Facebook page, the group said it would be organising a peaceful protest outside the Lissywollen site, starting from tomorrow (Friday).

The Irish Examiner reported this week that plans for a 1,000 person accommodation facility at Thornton Hall in Dublin were now in doubt after the Government agreed to quash the ministerial order which set the project in motion following a judicial review taken by local residents.

The residents' judicial review argued that the order should not be allowed to stand "as inadequate environmental screening had been performed at the rural site in advance of the establishment of a tented camp," the Examiner reported.