Asylum seekers removed from Dublin city streets ahead of St Patrick's Day

People who had been staying in the tents on Mount St were moved on Saturday morning to Crooksling in Co Dublin where new tented accommodation was provided.

A spokesman for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said that food, personal toiletries, toilets and shower facilities are available at the new site.

Tents have been removed from Mount St, and the Department is working with the HSE “to ensure the wellbeing of those onsite” at Crooksling, the spokesman told the Irish Examiner.

The situation generally remains “very challenging” and the supply of available accommodation is “severely diminished” nationally, the Department said.

“What accommodation can be opened at this point is primarily being utilised for families in order to avoid women and children becoming homeless,” he said.

“Since January, approximately 2,400 beds have been brought into use for those seeking accommodation.”

A spokesman for Dublin City Council confirmed their staff were at Mount Street on Saturday.

"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" he said.

Activist group Social Rights Ireland described the situation at Mount Street as "utter chaos", sharing pictures of slashed tents on social media.

Some volunteers have raised concerns personal belongings of some men were destroyed along with the rubbish. It is believed some may have missed the bus transfer having already left their tents for the day by the time the move started.

It's understood that after the men arrived at the new site, a protest took place outside on the road.

"Gardaí attended the scene of a public gathering earlier today in the Crooksling area of Dublin 24.

"All persons present later dispersed without incident, " a Garda spokesman said.

It follows a fire at St Brigid's Nursing Home in Crooksling last month and earlier demonstrations by people who believed the buildings were to be used to accommodate refugees.

Donna Cooney, a Green Party councillor in Dublin, said the lack of information given to the asylum seekers and elected representatives added to a general sense of confusion.

By afternoon, Ms Cooney had been told there were 15 working toilets and six showers on the Crooksling site, with more to be fitted.

Reports circulated online of men leaving the site to return to the city centre, but Department officials have said this was a minority of those taken to Crooksling.

Ms Cooney said there were also reports that some of the men had left the Mount St area to attend mosque services and missed the transport to Crooksling because they were never told that buses were coming.

Volunteers present at the encampment on Friday were also not aware of the planned move, she said.

She warned some people with lower levels of English may not understand what is happening, and called for better communication – saying this has been happening in other areas.

'It should never have got so bad'

Opposition politicians have queried the timing of the move, coming over the St Patrick's Day weekend when thousands of visitors are expected in Dublin.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik visited Mount Street on Saturday morning.

"It should never have got so bad here," she said.

She also gave “huge credit” to the local volunteers who have been helping those staying in the tents.

Labour TD Aodhan O’ Riordain said it is “amazing what some political pressure can do”, and queried why the situation was allowed to deteriorate to this point before action was taken.

He said it should never have taken an outbreak of disease to bring about this change in plans.

This followed health worries emerging this week for those staying in the tents including around an outbreak of scabies as well as various respiratory conditions.

Those affected with scabies were treated by HSE teams and referred to the National Infectious Disease Isolation Facility earlier this week to limit the spread of infection.

Photographs shared on social media by advocates and volunteers show many of the tents have been slashed with a large build-up of rubbish in the area, following so many people living on the unsuitable site.

Criticism of government

The Irish Refugee Council has criticised the decision to move hundreds of asylum seekers to a remote site as “an attempt to place people out of sight, out of mind” by the government.

“Our repeated call has been for people to be given appropriate accommodation. Not tents,” chief executive Nick Henderson said.

“We have received very concerning reports that people have been placed in tents outside of Dublin and that tents in the Mount Street area were slashed by contractors to prevent them being used again.” 

He said the state’s “legal and ethical obligations must be met” for these people.

“This seems to be shifting people from one place to another and an attempt to place people out of sight, out of mind,” he said.

“This would be the worst of both worlds: outside of the public eye but still in terrible conditions.” 

The said the men concerned are among those in need of emergency accommodation, with 1,308 asylum seekers now homeless.

Volunteers who have been supporting the men on Mount St have accused the government of being irresponsible.

Social Rights Ireland said: “This is a cynical and profoundly irresponsible ploy by the government to remove the embarrassing spectacle of a refugee encampment from the centre of the city on St Patrick’s weekend, when many tourists are visiting Dublin.” 

Their communication with some men involved indicated very few details were shared before they were moved out.

“We heard from several of the international protection applicants that they had been taken to a field next to a vacant nursing home in Saggart, West Dublin, that they had been given new tents and were told they could pitch them in a field next to the building and use the bathroom and shower facilities at the nursing home,” the group said.

“They were not informed how long this arrangement would last and whether there are plans to move them to secure indoor accommodation.”