Gardaí, staff from Waterways Ireland, the HSE, medics from the charity Safetynet and from the International Protection Accommodation Service (Ipas) were on the scene early yesterday morning, where more than 100 tents had appeared in recent weeks.
As a number of beds became available in recent days, 89 applicants for international protection were offered a place in specially designed accommodation yesterday.
The operation to remove the tents they were staying in, located between McCartney Bridge and Leeson Street Bridge, began at 9am.
Migrant tents at the Grand Canal lock at Wilton Terrace/Mespil Road. Photo: Frank McGrath
Barriers, similar to those used in previous evacuations at the canal and at the International Protection Office (IPO) on nearby Mount Street, were erected along the banks to prevent further tents from being set up.
However, a number of asylum seekers who have not been offered shelter are still at the canal, having resettled their tents on a small patch of grass a few hundred meters further than where they were before.
Last night more men were heading to bed for the night.
I haven't slept in three days. I haven't eaten, I have nowhere to sleep or live. I don't know where I'll go
There were tense scenes at lunch when a number of men appeared near the canal and began shouting abuse at those present. Attempts to calm the situation by a woman were met with further racist insults.
Earlier, when efforts to clear the area began, there was widespread bewilderment and confusion among asylum seekers. Some men had received an email from the IPO advising them to go to the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum to take up accommodation. The email stated that the number 44 bus will take you to Dundrum or you can take the Luas Green Line.
Many of the men do not speak English and did not know where to go.
Migrants pictured in the camp along the Grand Canal. Photo: Gerry Mooney
Using a translation app on a smartphone, a man from Jordan said he didn't know if he had received an email because he can't read. He said he had been sleeping along the canal bank for a week.
Another man, Brian Mogotsi, said he arrived in Ireland in January and had not received an offer of accommodation since. He had fled South Africa to seek asylum in Ireland because he feared for his life.
“With each passing day I become more and more desperate,” he said. “I'm alone here and it can really affect someone. I honestly don't know how long I can keep this up.”
40 tents have been set up along the Grand Canal after almost 100 were cleared this morning
Ibrahim Nasir, from Ethiopia, said he had been sleeping on the canal bank since last Wednesday. “I went public and then I came here,” he said. “I didn't have a tent for four days. I slept on the floor. I haven't slept in three days. I haven't eaten, I have nowhere to sleep or live. I came with two friends. I don't know where I'll go. I have nowhere to go and I don't know anyone here.'
The previous Grand Canal camp had grown to more than 100 tents two weeks after a similar camp was dismantled.
The camp began to grow between Baggot Street Bridge and Wilton Place on the city center side of the canal, within days of the removal of a camp of around 100 tents at Mount Street Bridge on May 9.
Migrants pictured in the camp along the Grand Canal. Photo: Gerry Mooney
The removal of the Mount Street Bridge site came just over a week after an extensive camp of more than 200 asylum seekers was dismantled on May 1 from Mount Street, Grattan Street and surrounding side streets and alleys, which had existed for more than a year. . Asylum seekers at the time were taken from the site to accommodation in Crooksling and Citywest after residents and businesses in the Mount Street area threatened legal action.
In a statement yesterday morning, the Ministry of Integration said: “International Protection Accommodation Services (Ipas) continues to work to ensure that the limited bed space available for applicants for international protection is prioritized for those most in need, including those who are poorly to sleep.”
Taoiseach Simon Harris
Last week, Prime Minister Simon Harris defended the government's actions on the growing migrant camp problem, saying he believed “official Ireland was turning a blind eye to the development of what almost became a public health emergency” with relating to the camp on Mount Street.
He added that state land must be identified very quickly to provide tented accommodation with sanitary facilities for asylum seekers.
“We have obligations on housing and we will meet them,” Mr Harris said. “But it's just part of a broader conversation that needs to happen about what a sustainable migration system looks like.”