A new direct provision centre in Lisdoonvarna is to open its doors to its first residents today.
The King Thomond Hotel on the outskirts of the North Clare village will welcome 30 asylum seekers to begin with, with that number likely to grow.
The King Thomond Hotel will from today officially be in use as a direct provision centre.
Initially, 30 asylum seekers will be accommodated there though that number is expected to grow to as high as 115 over the lifetime of the 12 month contract.
It’s families that are to take up residence in the North Clare village, with the children to be mainly primary school going age.
Concern had been expressed in Lisdoonvarna since news of the direct provision centre first emerged almost three weeks ago that the services required by these people are not present there.
The Department of Justice, however, moved to allay those concerns by insisting that the needs of the asylum seekers will be catered for separately, so that local services are not impacted.
