Integrating Ireland, the new national network of refugee, asylum-seeker and immigrant support groups, established in Athlone last weekend, was less than happy with the centre.
"Conditions are far from good there. It looks like a prison camp rather than a place where people should be finding refuge from fear and terror," said Mr Colm O Cuanachain, director of Comhlamh, which helped establish the new group.
"The 300 people there are living, in my view, in very unacceptable conditions and have complained about the cold they experience in their mobile homes," he said.
"While many have moved to Athlone from hostels and are glad that the mobiles give them some privacy, they cannot cook in their own homes because they do not have the money to buy food.
"Instead they have to go to a central canteen and queue up there and if they are bringing food back to sick people or their children, the food is frequently cold by the time it gets back.
"There is also the question of the distance from the town. They are far out from the centre of the town and they are very marginalised in every sense.
"An asylum-seeker is given only £15 a week and that does not go too far. They are not allowed work and they are not given the kind of information or support they should be getting," he added.
While there was a very good local support group in Athlone, he said, life was difficult for the people who had fled their countries. Athlone, like other towns in rural Ireland, should feel privileged to have such people in their midst and not reject them. They should follow the example of Ennis which was a model town in relation to the treatment of asylum-seekers and refugees.
Mr O Cuanachain said he believed the lack of integration was the fault of the Department of Justice which had not consulted properly with local people. "I believe that Irish people are open and generous and if the facts were explained to them, if they were told the terrible stories about why asylum-seekers are here, they would reach out to them," he said.
He said other departments too did not do their job. Many asylum-seekers with families were unaware they were entitled to family allowance and were never told.
He criticised the media for not doing their part in helping the integration process and for highlighting negative stories about refugees, asylum-seekers and immigrants.
"However, the good news story is that Integrating Ireland, which has the support of over 100 groups, has now been set up to help the integration process," he said.
He said the group, which will continue to hold its national meetings in Athlone, was committed to promoting and realising the human rights, equality and full integration of refugees, people seeking asylum, and immigrants. "At Saturday's meeting we had 60 representatives from groups all over the country, including Belfast, and we decided to set up five regional support networks."
These are located in the west, south-west, south-east, the north-east and in Dublin.
"This new group has the potential to play a crucial role in supporting and empowering the new communities arriving in Ireland," he said.
It was very encouraging that so many support groups were growing up all over the country and, he said, Integrating Ireland would be an important source of information and support for them.