Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2026
197. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for an update on the development of Thornton Hall for international protection accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5365/26]
View answerThornton Hall remains an important part of the longer-term strategy to increase State-owned provision of international protection accommodation, and to reduce reliance on higher-cost commercial provision.
Thornton Hall will be the subject of further sectoral planning in the coming period, in the context of the development of further prison service capacity, and IPAS Accommodation.
The use of certain State lands for temporary accommodation solutions, including this site, was initiated as part of an ongoing crisis response during 2024.
At the time, there were large numbers of applicants who could not be offered accommodation, and concerning numbers of single male applicants were rough-sleeping in high-risk circumstances.
In August 2024, the Department put in place a Ministerial Order under Section 181 of the Planning and Development act, to enable establishment of emergency temporary accommodation on the Thornton Hall site. Initial works commenced on the site.
In October of that year, a judicial review was brought by representatives of local residents, into the procedures that were applied in developing the Ministerial Order and this led to any further works on the site being paused.
The Department decided to set aside the Ministerial order in November 2024. Following this and similar judicial reviews of planning arrangement used to progress accommodation at State-owned sites, the Government is considering legislative proposals to update the planning arrangements for such sites.
Security services are being maintained at Thornton Hall, as there have been previous instances of threats, protest and criminal attacks at the site.
Accommodation supply remains constrained for single male applicants, and the State continues to maintain efforts to source accommodation as part of an overall reform of the international protection system, which is well underway.
Ireland has adopted and is now working to implement the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum in mid-2026. Reforming and speeding up processing of applications should also serve over time to reduce the scale of the demand for international protection accommodation.
The Department is also working to increase the amount of State-owned international protection accommodation and creating a more stable and sustainable accommodation system overall.
