Residents in Ballinamore, Co Leitrim are seeking a meeting with the Justice Department over plans to accommodate asylum seekers in the town.
The centre, which is expected to open in a number of weeks, will house some 130 people in a newly-renovated apartment block.
Around 150 people attended a public meeting in Ballinamore on Wednesday over the issue.
Locals raised concerns around the number of asylum seekers and the impact on the town's services.
"I feel that this area here is a very small area", one man who attended the meeting said.
Another suggested: "100 is a big number, and if that were to happen it would require an immediate upgrade of a number of services".
One woman said: "Basically around services is the big thing.
"Services, in particular in relation to medical issues, there's one GP in the town, the schools are already over-populated".
Sligo-Leitrim Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny says he welcomes the asylum seekers to the town.
But he acknowledged the concerns of people at the meeting.
"People of course were concerned at the number of asylum seekers that were coming, and that it was too many for the size of the town, etc.
"There was also very genuine concerns about the level of service that would be provided - and particularly the stress that it would put on schools if children are coming and they don't have English as their first language."
"Many of the concerns that were raised were concerns that were not able to be dealt with, particularly around the asylum accommodation, by the developer - but were rather questions for the Department of Justice.
Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny addresses the meeting in Ballinamore | Image via @BarryWhyte85 on Twitter"So it was agreed that we would look for a meeting with the Department of Justice, and that the department would seek a meeting with a delegation from the town council that would meet them and discuss the town councils as quickly as possible".
The Department of Justice said the number of asylum seekers coming to Ireland has risen by 53% to date this year.
It added that because of a shortage of places in accommodation centres, there were almost 1,400 people in emergency accommodation in hotels and guesthouses.
The department said it is running "a number of procurement processes" to find additional accommodation to meet this demand.
"The search for accommodation is nationwide and the department is in discussions with a number of providers in relation to premises.
"Until these commercially sensitive discussions are complete, it is not possible for the department to confirm any specific locations or premises."
Reporting by: Barry Whyte | Additional reporting: Jack Quann
