Circa €400,000 Spent On Newtown IPAS Centre

River Lodge Trudder MAR24

aving been the site for a series of sometimes violent protests last year, the cost of converting Newtown’s River Lodge into a IPAS centre has been revealed.

In a letter to the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee, the Department of Justice said the cost for the emergency tented accommodation was “circa €400,000”.

It was last December when the site was abandoned and the residents moved from their tents to an alternative site due to the severe weather conditions.

In today’s Irish Times, it was explained that other options for the vacant property had been explored by the Department of Justice this year, but after financial and technical assessments, it was deemed “not possible to move forward with such proposals”.

Following reviews of migrant accommodation centres, the department’s compliance team had recovered more than €975,000.

In the same letter from secretary general Oonagh McPhilips, it was also outlined that the International Protection Office was ultimately responsible for determining the age of those applicants being treated as unaccompanied minors, with Fine Gael TD of Dublin Bay South James Geoghegan pointing out that department officials at a recent hearing “allowed the committee to believe that Tusla is responsible for age assessments”.

McPhilips’ letter pointed out that new laws overhauling the international protection system would come into effect next year, with the IPO being responsible for managing age assessments. A move that Mr Geoghegan said “suggests the department already knows the current system is seriously inadequate but avoided saying so when asked directly about concerns.”

He also stated that whilst international protection numbers have reduced, there has been a 13.5% increase in arrivals of unaccompanied minors during the year.

Meanwhile, the apocalyptic crime wave predicted to hit Newtown following the arrival of international refugees in the town still has yet to materialise.