Decision due on Laois IPAS application

A decision is due today on an application to convert Peadar’s Bar in Durrow into IPAS accommodation. 

Marc Lennon applied to Laois County Council for permission to convert the pub on Mary Street in Durrow last July. The plan sought to  “carry out development which consists of accommodation to be used as accommodation for persons seeking international protection under the IPAS Scheme.”

It proposed a change to the ground floor bar and private accommodation on the first floor into five ground floor bedrooms and three bedrooms on the first floor. A single storey extension at the rear would house another three bedrooms and the plans include a kitchen dining room,  a communal living room, a laundry room and male and female bathrooms and showers. 

The planning application for Peadar's Bar attracted 141 submissions. The submissions were primarily made by local people but also included Durrow Community Council, Laois’s three TDs, Willie Aird, Sean Fleming and Brian Stanley and a number of Councillors. 

The planning application for the IPAS accommodation on Mary Street and a second plan by the same applicant for a similar conversion to Lennon’s Bar sparked a series of public meetings in Durrow. 

READ ALSO: 'Final Push' meeting over IPAS plans 

Laois County Council is expected to make a decision on the plan for Peadar’s Bar today. 

The Council requested Further Information in relation to a similar application for Lennon’s Bar on Mary Street on Tuesday, September 2.