€3.5m wasted for never used asylum seeker centre
And campaigners who have battled for five years to prevent the Department of Justice from turning Lynch’s Lodge Hotel in Macroom into an asylum seekers centre have also won a significant victory.
Macroom businessman Michael O’Riordan, together with local accountant Tim McSweeney, successfully argued that planning permission would be required for such a change of use, pointing out that a loss of hotel facilities would be detrimental to the area.
