Photo credit: the Irish times
Local councillors have raised concerns over plans to house up to 1,000 male asylum seekers in Dublin.
Irish Independent reports that the site was previously earmarked for a “super prison.”
The first forty asylum seekers will be housed in six tents, while a further six tents at the Thorton Hill site will be set up in the coming weeks. 400 people will be moved in during October and November.
The residents will be served three meals daily. They will also be served snacks and tea 24 hours daily, according to a briefing by the Department of Integration.
Eco-toilets and shower blocks will also be put in place, with wastewater and sewage from the site on a scheduled basis.
However, several people have been charged to court over alleged threats to workers and public order offences at the Thorton Hall site in the past week.
Helen Meyer, a local Sinn Fein councillor, said the plans should be halted pending more information from the Department of Integration. She said officials could have been more responsive to questions posed to them at a meeting earlier this week with local representatives.
She said, “If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. The way they are doing it now is very concerning. What we’d like to see is that they put good thought and planning into this so that it works.”
She also complained about a lack of buses in the area.
Officials from the department have told politicians and stakeholders in community engagement meetings recently that they would be liaising with the National Transport Authority to ensure enough capacity on buses.
