Ballsbridge reception centre challenged

A group of local residents has taken a High Court challenge to proposals to locate a reception centre for asylum-seekers at Broc House, Ballsbridge, Dublin.

The centre was formerly owned by the Franciscan order and operated as a student hostel and religious centre.

The judicial review proceedings have been taken by 12 residents, including two engineers, a dentist, a doctor, a barrister, two home-makers and several retired people.

Broc House is situated at Nutley Lane, Ballsbridge, Dublin, and the residents have addresses at Nutley Lane, Nutley Avenue and Elm Park, Ballsbridge.

Mr Justice O'Higgins yesterday granted leave to Mr James O'Reilly SC, for the residents, to seek a number of orders and declarations, including a declaration that the use of Broc House as a reception centre for some 100 asylum-seekers constitutes a material change of use of the premises and therefore requires planning permission. It is planned the asylum-seekers will be housed for two weeks in family units in Broc House, which has 30 bedrooms, and will receive social worker and orientation services.

Counsel said Broc House was built in the 1970s and for several years had housed former students from Gormanstown College, a college run by the Franciscan order, who were attending University College, Dublin. It also housed some members of the order and had a religious function.

Student use of the premises had fallen and it had then been used mainly for religious purposes until about the mid1990s. Conferences of bishops took place there and local people attended Mass and other community activities.

Since 1995, local people were not encouraged to use Broc House for religious purposes but it was still occupied by Franciscans. In April 2000, it was sold to the State.

The plan was to locate a reception centre for asylum-seekers there, Mr O'Reilly said. His case was that this was a material alteration of use of the premises. He was contending the hostel use had ceased and it was for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to argue in the judicial review action that the hostel use had revived and was still there. The judicial review application was grounded on an affidavit of Mr Brendan Molloy, an engineer, and chairman of Nutley Residents' Association Broc House Sub-Committee, and on another affidavit of a town planner. Mr Justice O'Higgins said he was satisfied counsel had established he had an arguable case and he granted leave to seek the reliefs sought.