Republic of Ireland

Concerns raised after dozens moved from ‘eyesore’ asylum camp in Dublin



Tents used by migrants and other people experiencing homeless outside the International Protection Office (PA)

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

Today 

Concerns have been raised after dozens of asylum seekers who had been camping in Dublin were moved by authorities to tents at a different location.

Men who had been camping at the International Protection Office on Mount Street were taken by bus to a site at Crooksling on Saturday morning.

Many of the dozens of tents that had been pitched at Mount Street had been slashed before they were cleared by council workers.


Tents are cleared from a site used by asylum seekers at the International Protection Office on Mount Street, Dublin. (Brian Lawless/PA)

Volunteers who had supplied the men with tents worked to salvage some equipment.

Some suggested that the abrupt movement of an estimated 200 asylum seekers from the location was due to the tents being an “eyesore” for tourists visiting the capital for the St Patrick’s Day weekend.

Community volunteer Lena Seale told the PA news agency: “It’s pretty obvious to us that the reason they are here is because Paddy’s Day is coming, we’re going to be flooded with tourists and I think they see these men as eyesores, not as human beings and they’re not serious about providing a real solution.”

Volunteers at the site suggested that some asylum seekers at the new location they had been brought to by International Protection Accommodation Services staff were given tents and limited facilities.

It was claimed that some of them were walking back to the site at Mount Street where their tents had since been removed.

Shoes, cleaning supplies, blankets and other personal belongings were seen in the area after the tents’ removal.



Some of the tents before they were cleared from outside the International Protection Office on Mount Street in Dublin (Grainne Ni Aodha/PA)

Labour Party TD Aodhan O’Riordain, who helped fold up some of the tents at the site, said there was a sense that the government was “playing a game”.

He said: “The sense of disappointment, (after we thought) we were getting proper accommodation is really really palpable.

“We feel that the government are playing a game, this is all for show. I didn’t want to believe that. I really wanted to believe that the advocacy had actually worked and the government were taking this seriously.”

“What has happened is they have just moved the situation from one place to another.”

He said although there is less risk of infection at the new site, that at Mount Street the men had access to local facilities and mosques.

Mr O’Riordain said he did not want to be cynical, but the site was “in the eyeline of tourists”.



Tents are cleared from a site used by asylum seekers at the International Protection Office on Mount Street, Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)

He said: “Why would they be here for a year and then moved on St Patrick’s weekend?


“We wanted this to be moved, we wanted people to be given more dignity, but if the alternative is tents on the side of a mountain, it’s hard to know if we’re just being played.”

In a statement, Dublin City Council said: “Following the relocation of the International Protection Applicants by IPAS, contractors working on behalf of Dublin City Council removed the waste and tents that were left behind as they were causing an obstruction on the public footpath.”

The Department of Integration said in a statement: “This morning, the Department has offered alternative shelter to all International Protection Applicants camped at Mount Street.

“All those who accepted the offer will be provided tented accommodation at a site in Crooksling, where food, personal toiletries, toilet and shower facilities are also available.

“The Department will engage with HSE and healthcare providers in order to ensure the wellbeing of those on site.

“The Department has engaged closely with Dublin City Council regarding the situation at Mount Street, and DCC has confirmed that the site at Mount Street will be cleaned following the removal of the tents currently there.

“More broadly, the situation in relation to accommodation remains very challenging. The supply of available accommodation is severely diminished.

“What accommodation can be opened at this point is primarily being utilised for families in order to avoid women and children becoming homeless. Since January, approximately 2,400 beds have been brought into use for those seeking accommodation.”