Taoiseach calls for 'Team Ireland' approach to asylum accommodation as 163 people moved from Grand Canal

There needs to be a ‘Team Ireland’ approach to tackling asylum seeker accommodation shortages and tent encampments in Dublin city centre, the Taoiseach has said.

Simon Harris made the comments as he confirmed that 163 asylum seekers had been removed from tents along the Grand Canal on Thursday morning.

Some 148 people were brought to Crooksling and another 15 were taken to the site of the former Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum.

Speaking at Government Buildings, Mr Harris said that tent encampments will not be allowed to last for weeks or months on the streets of the capital.

He vowed the multi-agency operation approach to remove people from tents will continue.

“We took action in relation to Mount Street. Issues will arise from time to time, we saw an issue arise in the Grand Canal and action was taken,” the Taoiseach said.

Ireland’s New Taoiseach Simon Harris speaks to media alongside the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland at Stormont Castle on May 3, 2024 in Belfast, Northern Ireland

“Swift action, you didn’t see a situation go on for weeks and months, as you had previously seen in relation to Mount Street. I’ve no doubt other issues will arise but the multi-agency response will continue.

“The days of people saying, ‘That’s not my issue, that’s for that department, that’s for that agency’, I don’t want to hear.

“This is Government. This is Ireland. This is Team Ireland.

“This is a real challenge we’re facing and it’s not about wearing the badge of your department or the badge of your agency. It’s about wearing common sense here on your sleeve and everything that you do.”

An early morning operation to remove tents which have been pitched by asylum seekers along a stretch of the Grand Canal, Dublin. The asylum claimants moved into the area after another makeshift migrant camp surrounding the International Protection Office (IPO) on Mount Street, Dublin, was dismantled in multi-agency operation last week. Picture date: Thursday May 9, 2024.

Mr Harris stated that multi-agency meetings would continue and another meeting would be held on Thursday afternoon.

He once again stated there needs to be a “broader response” to migration that moves beyond the accommodation question.

He added: “I’m having active conversations with a variety of ministers across the three parties in government to see what more proposals can be brought forward here in the coming days and weeks.”

The Taoiseach stated that the idea of allowing tents to build up on the Grand Canal or Mount Street for weeks and months is “not acceptable”.

“Those days are gone. Those days are over. It is not going to happen and the Government is absolutely united in relation to this,” he said.

Mr Harris also said that the approach to the accommodation crisis will not involve the “long-term erection or barriering off parts of our city”.

He could not say how long the barrier could be up but said he does not expect them to be up for several months.

A Government spokesperson confirmed that the sites at Crooksling and Dundrum have “robust, weather-proof tents”. Asylum seekers will have access to 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.

The encampment at the Grand Canal has been dismantled and the area is being cleaned by Waterways Ireland.