The Department of Integration has broken its silence on plans to house refugees in Listowel.
Rumours began to spread last week that a direct provision centre would open in the town shortly to accommodate international protection applicants.
This morning, Fine Gael councillor Aoife Thornton told Radio Kerry that Kerry County Council has been in negotiations with the Department of Housing and the owner of the Presentation Convent in Listowel.
Kerry County Council is only ever involved in the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees, and not asylum seekers.
Radio Kerry News contacted the Department of Integration last week, and received a response from the Department this afternoon.
It said the Department is currently examining the use of the convent for people fleeing the war in Ukraine, and no further detail is available at this point.
Cllr Thornton says because the convent is a protected structure, a certain process is being followed to make it suitable for accommodation.
