The Irish Society for Autism has asked the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, to support its bid to acquire a building purchased as an accommodation centre for asylum-seekers in Co Carlow.
The society was in the process of putting together a £700,000 bid for the Ionad Follain retreat centre in Myshall when it was sold in April to the Office of Public Works (OPW) for just over £1 million. An OPW spokeswoman says work to prepare the building for the Department of Justice is to begin in the near future.
However, Mr Pat Matthews, executive director of the Society for Autism, expressed hope that the building would be handed over to the Department of Health, and some arrangement could be found for the society to use it as a residential centre for 22 people with autism.
The centre would be an ideal home for people misplaced in mental health centres and psychiatric hospitals, he said. Representatives of the society met Mr Ahern in Carlow, and Mr Matthews said the Taoiseach had promised to investigate the matter, and "our hopes now rest with him".
The Department of Justice intends to use the building to house up to 40 asylum-seekers. It has also considered providing additional temporary accommodation on the centre's seven acres of grounds.
Local people have expressed strong opposition to the move and have criticised the OPW for effectively outbidding the society. The OPW says it was not aware of the society's interest when it purchased the building.