Planning permission sought for extension of controversial Tipperary IPAS centre
Plans to extend a Tipperary direct provision centre have been lodged with the local authority.
Swiftcastle have applied to Tipperary County Council for planning permission to build an additional 60 bedrooms at the Racket Hall Hotel direct provision centre in Roscrea.
The new bedrooms would be in a three-storey bedroom wing extension to the side of the existing building.
As part of the works, Swiftcastle have also applied for permission to build a single-storey kitchen extension to the side of the existing building.
The Roscrea hotel was the site of frequent protests last year, with local residents camping out at the hotel for 10 weeks in protest of the closure of the town’s only hotel to be used for asylum seeker accommodation.
Violent scuffles with Gardaí made national headlines last year when women and children were bussed into the site, with the hotel understood to have space for up to 160 international protection applicants.
If given the green light, the proposed extension would increase the total numbers of international protection applicants to 220.
Tipperary County Council are due to make a decision on the application by September 29.