Plans to open an accommodation centre for up to one thousand male asylum seekers in County Dublin are further facing delays. An application has been made to the courts by some local residents to halt the project at Thornton Hall.
Alex Rowley reports: "Recent figures show there are almost 2-thousand-900 asylum seekers waiting for an offer of accommodation, and concerns are growing around their safety as we enter the cold winter months. In a statement to the Irish Times, the Department of Children and Integration says works at the north county Dublin site have paused due to a matter that is currently before the courts.
"It's understood the department is working on a new ministerial order to overcome the delay. The State-owned site has been the location of a number of protests in recent months, after work to prepare the site as an accommodation centre began at the beginning of August. It was expected the first 40 asylum seekers would have been housed in tents at the location that month."
