The Department of Integration’s confirmed it intends to accommodate 300 international protection applicants in Shannon.
Work has been ongoing over the last number of weeks to bring the facility up to standard.
The facility’s been mooted for Shannon for a number of months, and correspondence to Clare Fianna Fail TD Cathal Crowe, seen by Clare FM, has shed some further light on the plans.
It’s understood members of a new Shannon Residents Group met local political representatives last night about the issue.
The Department says it’s working with the Office of Public Works to develop proposals to use a state owned property in the Shannon Free Zone to accommodate around 300 refugees and asylum seekers.
They say that ‘engagement’ on the matter is ongoing, and that further details will only be disclosed when designs and a contract with a provider to operate the facility are agreed.
While the Department doesn’t commit to an exact timeline for the facility, it says it anticipates the property to ‘come online later in the year’.
