A Monaghan town Direct Provision Centre has been given planning permission to construct 29 modular units.
The development, at St. Patrick's Direct Provision Centre will be housed in three detached buildings. Tattonward Limited have been given the green light to erect these buildings which will house 29 modular units in total to house asylum seekers.
The development approved by Monaghan County Council will take place on a disused tract of wasteland within the Direct Provision site and residents will have "immediate and direct access" to the existing facilities that are already in place. The three detached buildings will provide a floor space of 1,168 square metres in two single-storey terraces of ten modular residential units and one single-storey terrace of nine modular residential units, resulting in a total of twenty-nine units over 40 square metres each.
The units that will be used to accommodate asylum seekers will contain two bedrooms and a kitchen/family room, as well as bathroom and hallway accommodation in each unit.
The development will also include the installation of three new pump houses, the erection of a reinforced concrete retaining wall, the provision of communal open spaces, as well as a separate area for recreational purposes. In the application, Tattonward describes the proposal as a "reasonable expansion" of the Direct Provision centre and that the facilities are "geared towards improving the lives of residents". Tattonward adds that "is it our view that modular forms of housing are acceptable for individuals or families in need of short-term accommodation, or where dwellings are needed on an urgent or immediate basis".
