Several hundred asylum seekers and their children in Galway face an uncertain future due to the sudden closure of their accommodation centre in the city.

The Department of Justice has confirmed up to 300 families are to be relocated from Lisbrook centre, formerly the Ibis Hotel, as part of an “ongoing consolidation” of accommodation for asylum seekers across the State.

More than 80 per cent of the residents of various nationalities have been in direct provision accommodation for more than four years.

They have become part of the local community in the Tirellan area of the city, and their children have been attending local schools.

Residents who said they were too frightened to have their names quoted told  today’s  Irish Times the decision was causing “serious trauma”, as some families had already spent time in up to eight direct provision centres before Lisbrook.

Individual asylum seekers received letters from the agency late last week informing them of the closure. It said it would contact families and individuals “in the coming weeks” to explain arrangements for relocation to alternative accommodation centres. Arrangements would be made to place children in school “in their new locations”.

The agency said it regretted the “inconvenience caused”.