Locals who have successfully blocked an IPAS centre at a 300-year-old estate – the owners of which received €20million of taxpayers’ money – say there’s now only one way to protect the historic property from misuse in the future

The Dundrum Heritage Group wants Dundrum Manor House in Co. Tipperary put on the open market and restored as a hotel, arguing this would help protect the 300-year-old property from future misuse. The call follows planning rulings that the site’s use as an accommodation centre was unauthorised, and reports of deterioration inside the protected mansion.

Tipperary County Council has ordered the owners to end the centre’s use by 29 January, while the Department of Justice says it will stop using adjoining buildings for the scheme when its contract ends in March 2027. The owners received more than €20 million in State funding for accommodation for Ukrainian refugees and international protection applicants; the article says the companies involved are in liquidation. The former hotel closed in August 2025, with 48 jobs lost.