Housing for refugees planned at Dublin Airport site

The Government is planning to provide prefabricated accommodation for up to 400 asylum-seekers at Dublin Airport. The accommodation, which will cost several million pounds to construct, will be built on land owned by the businessmen Des and Ulick McEvaddy.

Individual asylum-seekers and families will be accommodated in prefabricated "pods" of various sizes, imported from Canada, where they are normally used to provide temporary shelter for mining workers or for catering.

The centre is expected to be a stand-alone facility, with round-the-clock security and leisure facilities. Residents will be free to come and go, but their movements will be monitored. Meals will be provided and subsistence money will be paid at a rate of £15 a week for each adult and £7.50 for each child.

The project is one of a number of compounds being planned by the Government. About 1,000 asylum-seekers will be housed in mobile homes at sites in Athlone, Kildare and Tralee, and a further 4,000 will be housed in sites similar to the one planned for Dublin Airport.

The Minister of State at the Office of Public Works, Mr Martin Cullen, yesterday declined to comment on the planned camp at Dublin Airport. "The political decisions have nothing to do with us. We only act as agents of the Department of Justice in sourcing suitable accommodation", he said.

A spokesman for the Department also declined to comment on any specific project. "We have an ongoing necessity, as well as a legal and humanitarian obligation, to find accommodation for the 1,000 or so asylum-seekers who come here each month. This is a challenge that shouldn't be underestimated, but wherever we seek to provide accommodation there will always be consultation with the local community."

So far this year the Department has found accommodation for about 3,000 asylum-seekers. Applicants have been dispersed to 50 locations in 24 counties, although the majority are still in Dublin. Earlier this year the Government planned to lease a number of "flotels" or "floating hotels". However, Mr Cullen said yesterday that flotels were not required for the moment.