A group of Athlone Councillors has been successful in their objection to the development of the site.
The Government has conceded its case against a High Court challenge brought by a number of Westmeath Councillors.
The Athlone councillors, represented by Independent Ireland rep Paul Hogan as plaintiff, were seeking to arrest the development of a 1,000 person capacity Asylum Seeker accommodation centre in Lissywollen.
Mr Hogan, along with independent Longford Westmeath TD Kevin 'Boxer' Moran, councillors Frankie Keena and Aengus O’Rourke of Fianna Fáil and John Dolan of Fine Gael, believed the State erred in how it handled its obligations regarding the environmental impact of the plans.
The 'Midlands Accommodation Centre' has been the subject of sustained protests over the course of the last number of months.
Similar objections have successfully halted works on a site in Dublin.
Cllr. Hogan says:
“This is a win for the people of Athlone and for fairness in governance. The process undertaken by the Minister was unlawful and ignored key environmental and planning concerns. Communities deserve better, and this result ensures their voices cannot simply be dismissed.”
Athlone Mayor Frankie Keena:
"Our case focuses solely on environmental issues and the announcement. . .clearly shows that the
State errored in this area in relation to this development and thus were unable to counter our legal
challenge"
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