By Veronica Corr and Michael Fisher
On foot of an enquiry from this newspaper regarding other sites being earmarked for asylum seekers within the County Monaghan, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice and Equality confirmed in a statement on Tuesday: “There is one dedicated accommodation centre in Monaghan – at St Patrick’s near Monaghan Town. As of 15th September 2019, there are 198 people living in the centre. “Evaluations of tender offers are currently underway and for this reason we cannot comment on the location of new centres under consideration in this process at this time. When the evaluation and commercially sensitive aspects of the process are completed, the Department engages with local communities and their political representatives.
“It is important to state that there are accommodation centres all over the State and the experience of communities has been very positive. As the competitions advertised to date are currently under assessment and the process remains ‘live’, the Department cannot comment further at this time. “The State has a legal obligation to offer accommodation, food and a range of other services (including meals, utilities, healthcare etc.) and allowances to any person who….
