A protracted dispute between staff and management at the State's "one-stop-shop" for immigrants in Dublin will be heard by the Labour Court next week, after four days of conciliation talks broke down.
The IMPACT union last night accused the Eastern Health Board, which manages the Refugee Application Centre on Lower Mount Street, of "not acting in good faith". It said the board back-tracked on its promises to resolve staffing and accommodation problems.
IMPACT, along with SIPTU, represents some 21 community welfare officers at the centre, which was forced to close temporarily earlier this month amid staff fears that the number of applicants was too great to handle safely.
The crisis was followed by remarks by the Progressive Democrats Minister of State, Ms Liz O'Donnell, who said the Government's immigration policy was a "shambles".
IMPACT said staff were under "great pressure" to cope with the large numbers of asylum-seekers attending the centre, and were concerned the service and facilities were inadequate.
An IMPACT official, Mr Sean McHugh, said the board had gone back on a promise to recruit 10 permanent staff and had failed to deliver a new location to deal with the over-spill.
The Labour Court is likely to hear the case next Thursday.