The developer of a planned accommodation centre for international protection (IP) applicants at the former Crown Paints factory site in Coolock, Dublin, is suing the State for damages, claiming it spent some €4.2 million preparing the site before violent disorder stopped the project in its tracks.
Sorega LP has brought Commercial Court proceedings against the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality and the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, who took over the role of provision of international protection centres last year.
Bernard Dunleavy, counsel for Sorega, on Monday applied to Judge Mark Sanfey to have the case admitted to the commercial list but Ailbhe O’Neill, barrister for the Ministers, asked for a short adjournment so his clients could file a sworn statement opposing entry.
The judge noted this was the first one of these cases – over the ending of contracts for such centres – where there had been opposition from the State to entry to the commercial list. He said it was unsatisfactory that the opposition was so late but he agreed to adjourn it for two weeks.
READ MORE
In an sworn statement seeking entry to the list, Paul Collins, a director of Townbe Unlimited Company, which is in partnership with Sorega LP, said he was requested by the government department then in charge of IP accommodation, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, to source a site close to Dublin Airport which was capable of accommodating a large number of international protection applicants.
He identified the Crown Paints factory with the plan to assemble modular units on-site to form an apartment-style complex with associated leisure facilities. It was planned to provide 775 accommodation places there.
Due to the scale of the project, Collins said he sought external investment. One of those investors, Amberbreak Unlimited Company, contributed €4 million in capital and a loan of nearly €274,000.
In May 2024, following talks with the department about progressing the contract, Townbe executed a lease for €1.25 million for the Crown Paints site, which was assigned to the Sorega Partnership.
In July 2024, following further negotiations with the department, which said it was under “ferocious” pressure to make accommodation available, and following an information meeting with a group of public representatives, violent disorder broke out to try to stop the development, Collins said.
Despite High Court injunctions being granted over the disorder, gardaí were unable to enforce them and advised Sorega not to attempt to unilaterally avail of the orders due to the risk of inflaming the situation, Collins said.
In May 2025, the defendant was informed the Department of Justice had been assigned responsibility for accommodating international protection applicants and that the Crown Paints site would not be used to accommodate international protection applicants.
Sorega says it has spent some €4.2 million related to the development of the site including legal expenses of some €652,000, insurance of some €192,000 and rent of just over €2 million.
It was also forced to mitigate a loss for the purchase of modular units by acquiring the full capital asset from the company involved for €7 million, with the aim to possibly use the units at other locations or to sell them, Collins said. Sorega estimates that in total some €12 million in liabilities has arisen out of the entire matter.
Collins said they would not have spent such sums were it not for the “uniformity of representations” from the State about the development of the site.
It seeks damages for misrepresentation, misstatement and/or breach of warranty/duty and/or full indemnity for its costs.
