THE HIGH COURT will rule later today on the State’s plans to house up to 1,000 men at a recently formed international protection centre in Athlone.

If the court rules against any further use of the site and the dismantling of the facility, it will create even further pressure on the new government to source accommodation for people entering the country.

Lawyers for the State conceded a challenge brought by Athlone county councillor Paul Hogan who claimed it was unsuitable to house 1,000 people, with the case and future of the site to be finalised today.

On Monday, the High Court heard that the case was being conceded by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability and Youth and that “the development will be classified as an unauthorised development”.

However, the Department for Children, Equality, Disability and Youth appears hopeful that it can continue to use the Athlone site. In a statement earlier this week, it said that while it “does not intend to defend the planning issues, other matters remain under discussion” around the use of the accommodation.

It’s not yet known if the department intends to apply for planning permission to maintain use of the site, even in a downscaled fashion.

The first group of 92 people seeking international protection arrived at the centre earlier this month and their continued residence at the site in army-style tents is likely to be decided by the court by way of its decision. These men had been moved from sites in Co Wicklow which had themselves come in for criticism from local support groups over the quality of the accommodation.

It had been proposed that the tents would eventually be replaced with modular units.

Any decision on further use will be known when the court rules later today.

The department said that sourcing accommodation for people seeking international protection has become “ever more urgent” due to the acute shortage of space and increasing numbers of applications.

“Despite expanding our system by over 20,000 beds in the last 2 years, nearly 3,000 international protection applicants have not been offered accommodation during 2024,” the department said.

The department has declined to comment further while the issue remains before the court.

Hogan, who is a member of the Independent Ireland party, took the challenge after a fundraising website, which amassed over €50k in donations.

According to the site, the challenge was being brought on behalf of Hogan and four other Athlone-based representatives, including freshly re-elected independent TD Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran and councillors Frankie Keena and Aengus O’Rourke of Fianna Fáil and John Dolan of Fine Gael.

The State had planned to accommodate up to 1,000 men seeking international protection on the site, but the recent legal challenge has thrown that into uncertainty.

Since October, protests have taken place around the new International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) facility called Midlands Accommodation Centre.

It’s located on the northern outskirts of Athlone in an area called Lissywollen.

In his challenge, Hogan claimed the ministerial process providing for the plan was unlawful, irrational and a breach of fair procedures.

Speaking to local radio station Midlands 103 this week, he said that it was an “overstretch” by the government to use the site.

He told the station that the town had catered to a longstanding International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre in Lissywollen for families, but said that he believed the new centre could “pull (the current facility) down” due to the largescale increase in population.