Availability of suitable accommodation, not the size of local communities, remains the key to the allocation of asylum-seekers, the Directorate for Asylum Support Services has said.
Due to accommodation shortages and the number "of asylum-seekers entering the country, the availability of suitable accommodation is the key criterion" in allocation, Ms Berenice O'Neill of the directorate has written to Kerry County Council.
The council passed a resolution last month asking for fairer distribution of asylum-seekers. "I am still calling for a fair distribution and reiterating my opposition to the siting of asylum-seekers in the grounds of St Finan's psychiatric hospital in Killarney, as totally unsuitable," Mr Brian O'Leary (FF), a Kerry county councillor, said.
As more accommodation came on stream, there would be "a fair and balanced distribution of asylum-seekers throughout the country," Ms O'Neill writes.
Although the directorate promises to have "particular regard . . . to the size of local communities" when locating asylum-seekers, no change is expected in current distribution policies until "the medium to longer term".