Councillors call for review of planning ‘loophole’ after leaked file indicates IPAS development for Mayo town
Mayo County Council has called for written confirmation from the Minister for Integration that a building in Knock will not be used to house asylum seekers.
The motion, tabled by Cllr Deirdre Lawless at the council’s monthly meeting, was brought forward after a leaked document suggested the property, which had been promised to reopen as a four-star hotel, had been earmarked for use as an International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) centre.
Cllr Lawless told colleagues that a time bound agreement had been in place between the building’s owner and Mayo County Council to house those seeking international protection. She asked if this arrangement was now “null and void”.
Director of Services Tom Gilligan confirmed that no such agreement exists. “I know that the owners had initially looked in relation to using the hotel for it,” he said, “but they are committed, as far as I’m aware at this stage, to turn it into a hotel for local tourism.”
Despite that assurance, councillors raised broader concerns about how developers can change a building’s use through section five of the Planning and Development Act 2000, in turn, avoiding the full planning permission process.
Section five allows individuals or developers to seek a formal declaration from their local planning authority to determine whether a proposed development qualifies as exempt under certain criteria. If deemed exempt, the development can proceed without requiring formal planning permission.
Unlike ordinary planning applications, which involve public notices and opportunities for residents to object or appeal, section five exemptions are made internally by planning authorities and do not require full permission.
Cllr Lawless criticised the system: “The ordinary person must apply through the planning system for planning permission, it can be really lengthy and very costly on the individual, on families and on couples. Yet these property developers and business owners, many of them registered outside of the state, they’re not in county Mayo, can bypass our planning laws.”
She told the council about planning company Forbairt Órga Teoranta Ltd , stating that it had received €19.5 Million from the Department of Integration to house those seeking international protection since mid 2022. According to Cllr Lawless, the company has also submitted section five applications for developments in Ballina, Ballyhaunis, and is applying for another in Killala.
“These companies are making millions off the taxpayer, and the taxpayer is being treated like a mushroom, we are being kept in the dark,” she said.
Cllr Marie Thérese Duffy stated that section five exemption loopholes need to be reviewed nationally: “There's a lot of profiteering happening all over Ireland and there’s a lack of information within communities around our country and there's a lot of anger too.”
A motion to revoke section five was raised last year by Deputy Paul Lawless, who was a councillor in Mayo at the time. Mayo County Council wrote to the Minister for Housing but but Cllr Lawless told the Irish Independent that no reply was received.
Director of Services for Planning, Catherine McConnell, clarified that a section five is a declaration, not a permission.
“We receive section five declarations for a wide variety of developments or uses. In the case we are talking about here, applications are for the use of the building. ‘Could this building, if used for this purpose, be exempt’ - That’s what they are asking. It's not granting permission for anything, it does not confer any authority to use it. It still goes back to the department to decide its use,” she explained.
If a section five is granted, the final decision on whether a property can be used for certain purposes, like an IPAS centre, remains with the International Protection Office within the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, not the local council.
The Irish Independent contacted the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in relation to the development in Knock. They responded saying: “The Department has not received an offer of international protection accommodation at this location and is not considering it for use.”
The building in Knock is confirmed for restoration as a four-star tourist hotel, but councillors want written confirmation from the Minister to prevent any future reconsideration of the site for asylum accommodation.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Cllr Lawless said there had been no response from the Minister yet. She called for an end to planning circumvention and for community engagement to be key to all planning permission applications.
“Individuals must apply through the planning system and are subject to serious scrutiny, often being rejected planning permission over small details. Meanwhile, property developers can completely change the demographic and population of a village or town overnight and do not have to notify the public. This is wrong and unjust. This government needs to close this loophole immediately and create a system that is equal and fair to all citizens of the land.”
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