Thornton Hall accommodation works delayed by anti-social behaviour

The Thornton Hall site was originally planned to house a new prison when the State purchased it in 2005. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Protest encampments at a proposed international protection site in North Dublin have significantly delayed its opening, with multiple “serious” incidents of anti-social behaviour — including stalking and animal cruelty — reported.

Last June, the Government announced that it was planning to make use of the vacant farm site at the vacant Thornton Hall farm, near Dublin Airport, to provide temporary tented accommodation for single, male asylum seekers.

In an update for locals delivered late last week, the Department of Integration noted that works to develop the site have yet to commence — not least due to the constant presence of a protest encampment at the farm’s entrances since it was first announced that the site was to be used to accommodate asylum seekers.

“Protesters have maintained a consistent presence at both gates on the site," the update said.

Encampments are making it extremely difficult for required works to be carried out

It said that “serious incidents” that have been carried out at the site by “bad actors” since the June announcement include incidents of animal cruelty, persistent verbal threats, objects being thrown at individuals trying to work on the site, and the stalking of security personnel.

Nevertheless, the department said that it is seeking to commence works at the site to set up the emergency accommodation “as soon as possible”, with the site then to go live for asylum seekers within five weeks of work starting.

The department stated that initially six tents — housing 40 people apiece — will be installed on the 35-acre site. File Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Thornton Hall was first purchased by the State in 2005 for €30m, with a view to building a new prison there to relieve accommodation pressures at Mountjoy Prison.

However, that project was eventually scrapped in the wake of the economic crash.

Now, it’s believed that the Department of Justice is still planning for the construction of a new prison on the site in the foreseeable future.

The farm had previously been rejected as inappropriate for accommodating refugees

However, that position began to change as the State quickly ran out of space for housing asylum seekers towards the end of 2023.

The Irish Examiner previously reported that there is no sewage connection on the site, a fact acknowledged by the Department of Integration in its update when making reference to the fact that “waste-water and sewage will be removed from the site on a scheduled basis”.

The department also gave an update as to what numbers will initially be accommodated at the farm, stating that initially six tents — housing 40 people apiece — will be installed on the 35-acre site, with a further 440 people then to be accommodated as part of the second phase of delivery.

The department said that the site will have security on-site 24 hours a day, while a fully catered service — including three meals daily — will be offered to residents, with tea and coffee stations available at all times.

Residents will be able to enter and exit the site as they please, but will be expected to sign in and out with security on each occasion, the update said.

It said that communities nationwide have responded to the setting up of accommodation centres in their locality “with a generosity of spirit”.

The department also added that providing accommodation for those fleeing persecution “is the law, but it’s also part of who we are as a nation”.

“We intend to help people who are fleeing a war or persecution, and who have no other option but to seek help,” it said.

A further update is to be provided to local representatives next week.