Proposed legislation from the Minister for Justice which seeks to allow the government to construct seven big IPAS centres without going through the regular planning process, must be opposed according to Mayo deputy Paul Lawless.
An IPAS centre is an accommodation facility managed by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, for people seeking asylum. These centers provide temporary shelter, food, and support services to international protection applicants while they await a decision on their asylum application.
At the weekend, it was reported in a national newspaper that the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan is set to bring in legislation which will allow for the construction of seven massive asylum accommodation centres without the public being allowed to object through the planning system.
Deputy Lawless argues, “the High Court previously said some IPAS accommodation centres were ‘illegal structures’, largely because there hadn’t been adequate public consultation in their development”.
However, the Aontu deputy says the government is now planning to fully delete the requirement for public participation in the planning process for these structures.
He insists that Aontú is opposed to this and will be bringing its own legislation to the Dáil in the coming weeks which seeks to ensure that accommodation centres can’t continue to by-pass large parts of the planning process,
He told Midwest News Editor Teresa O’Malley that the system must be democratic and fair to all citizens…
