Asylum seekers erect more than 70 tents along Dublin's Grand Canal

Asylum seekers erect more than 70 tents along Dublin’s Grand Canal

More than 70 tents have been erected along Dublin’s Grand Canal just days after a makeshift tent city was removed from outside the offices of the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS).

The tents were pitched in lines on both banks of the canal in the area around the Mount Street Bridge on Sunday, close to where over 200 men were moved out on Wednesday after what the Taoiseach called a “shanty town” had developed. Single men seeking international protection are being forced to sleep in tents due to the State’s inability to offer them accommodation.

On Saturday night, volunteers distributed food and water to the asylum seekers sheltering in the tents.

After the dismantling of the “shanty town” last week, the Government said the asylum seekers “have now been safely moved to Citywest and to Crooksling tented accommodation” in Dublin. A statement said:

The Crooksling site has robust, weather-proof tents. It has toilets and showers; health services; indoor areas where food is provided; facilities to charge phones and personal devices; access to transport to and from Dublin City Centre; and 24-hour onsite security.

However, it is understood that some men who had been sleeping in the tents on Mount Street were not present when the clean-up operation took place and were not moved. In addition, new arrivals have not been offered accommodation, with nearly 1,700 men now awaiting offers of a bed.

The emergence of the tents has led to a local residents’ committee calling for Taoiseach Simon Harris to honour the “political commitment” he gave that such encampments would not be seen again.

One minister said the new tented encampment “looks very bad” and Mr Harris “shouldn’t have made such a big deal” of the Mount Street operation on Wednesday.

The Grand Canal encampment is the latest development in a week which saw a sharp focus on on immigration, with Ireland at odds with the UK amid claims that 80% of those seeking international protection had crossed the border.

Meanwhile, a Fianna Fáil TD has said the Government must be stronger in dealing with tent cities. Cork East TD James O’Connor also called for gardaí to be deployed to check points on the border to deal with a reported increase in migrants entering from the North.

“What’s happening on Grand Canal dock, and in Mount Street indeed, it’s completely unacceptable to me as a government TD and I think the Government needs to be stronger in dealing with this,” the Cork East TD told RTÉ Radio One’s This Week programme.

There’s no shame in saying that, in providing appropriate accommodation, I think buying up hotels and B&Bs across the country for the purpose of providing asylum accommodation, in my view, is no longer appropriate and we’re seeing the increase in tensions — attacks on politicians’ homes, protests that are getting out of control in certain parts of the country, and this to me is a huge, huge concern.

Mr O’Connor said there was a need for larger accommodation centres in places like Dublin Airport and in the border area.

Anti-migrant groups will hold a march in Dublin on Monday, with a counter-protest planned. Garda sources said that there will be a heavy presence in Dublin city on the bank holiday.

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