Protests ‘hampering progress’ to house hundreds of asylum-seekers at north Dublin site

Ongoing protests are ‘hampering progress’ of the controversial accommodation site for international protection applications at Thornton Hall in North Dublin, the Department for Integration has admitted.

The Department had planned to start moving asylum seekers onto tented accommodation at the site, some 5 kilometres north of Finglas, last month. 

The 150-acre site in rural farmland was originally bought by the State in 2005 for €30 million for the purpose of building a new ‘super-prison’.

Since then, a further €21 million has been spent on the site located some 5 kilometres north of Finglas, but plans for the new prison have stalled. 

Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman’s recent decision to use part of the site to house an expected 1,000 plus asylum seekers in tented accommodation provoked widespread opposition from the general public and some public representatives in the locality and as far north as county Meath. Protesters have maintained a constant presence at the site. 

In a letter to local representatives this week, the Department said; ‘A review is currently ongoing regarding the status of services at Thornton Hall.

‘The Department is engaging with our partners to complete relevant assessments.

‘While it was hoped that we would be in a position to begin providing emergency accommodation to people seeking international protection in June, ongoing protests at the site are hampering progress.’

It will ‘share updated information’ when it becomes available, the letter added.

While the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee insisted plans for the proposed prison have not been shelved, there are no definite plans in progress despite chronic overcrowding in the prison population. 

The Department of Justice recently told TDs that prisoners are being given early release to alleviate overcrowding.