Several hours after the operation, forty tents are still in place to clear the banks of homeless asylum seekersThe tents are on a small patch of grass, a few hundred meters higher than where they were previouslyEamon Ryan denies migrant camp was dismantled ahead of high-profile Europa League final in AvivaThe government has said it wants to move asylum seekers out of tents and into modular or prefabricated housing by winterUp to 30,000 asylum seekers are expected to arrive in the state this year, with around 600 arriving every week
Around 40 tents still line Dublin's Grand Canal after 89 male asylum seekers, who were sleeping rough in the same location, were moved this morning.
The remaining asylum seekers were not offered shelter and have resettled their tents on a small patch of grass a few hundred meters further than where they were before.
This evening more men were heading to bed for the night.
Barricades were erected along the canal to prevent new tents from being set up. However, Olivia Headon, a volunteer who helps people seeking international protection, said only some of the people were given shelter this morning and remained near the site.
She told RTÉ's Drivetime: “We have a lot of men still sitting by the canal in a very small green space that is not barricaded yet, who may be sleeping there tonight.
“There was quite a bit of anxiety among the men. They didn't quite understand what was happening. I think there's always in the back of people's minds, 'Is this deportation, are they taking us to the airport?'”
There are 40 tents at the site on the banks of Dublin's Grand Canal (photo: Adrianna Wrona)
“We don't need this huge multi-agency operation every time, which costs thousands of euros. It can be done in a more humane and dignified way so that it doesn't always have to be this urgent removal,” she added.
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.
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 been offered 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.”
Migrants pictured in the camp along the Grand Canal. Photo: Gerry Mooney
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.'
This morning's eviction marked the fourth time asylum seekers sleeping in tents have been moved from parts of Dublin city in recent months – twice on Mount Street and twice on the Grand Canal.
The government hopes to have asylum seekers out of tents by winter and into modular or prefabricated housing instead.
A Green Party spokesperson said the government wants to get asylum seekers in tents at locations like Crooksling out of there by winter.
The coalition is investigating “a number” of other locations where such migrant camps will be set up and “everything is being assessed.”
The spokesperson said the use of tents is “short-term.” Previously, migrants were also housed in tents in Stradbally, Co Laois.
However, he declined to give an indication of a time frame, saying the situation is “complex” and sensitive.
“It's a very challenging situation,” he said.
“I'm not going to pin myself down on a specific date. They work at speed, they work around the clock.
“We have never had the level of migration that we have seen in the last two years.”
The government expects up to 30,000 asylum seekers to enter the state this year, with around 600 people seeking international protection arriving every week.
The state is currently considering using part of Thornton Hall in north Dublin to house asylum seekers in military tents.
The site is expected to be ready within four to six weeks.
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan previously denied that homeless asylum seekers would be moved to tomorrow night's high-profile Europa League final at the Aviva Stadium.
The Green Party leader said they were moved because accommodation became available and not because of the final between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen.
Mr Ryan told RTE News at one: “That's not the reason you want to offer people shelter, because of a football match.
“It is an ongoing reality that we must provide protection to people who seek refuge here. That was a real challenge because of the numbers coming up.
“We didn't have the accommodation available, but as soon as it becomes available we clearly want to make it available to those who are in a more dangerous situation and are camping that way, so that's the reason it's been done now – it's because we have the accommodation available.”
Mr Ryan acknowledged that “you could never stop someone wanting to pitch a tent in a particular location”, but said ministers wanted to stop makeshift camps for security reasons.
Early this morning, almost two weeks after the previous attempt to clear the capital's encampment, a multi-agency operation began removing tents set up by asylum seekers who had been sleeping along the canal.
Gardaí, Waterways Ireland staff, the HSE and medics from the charity Safetynet are taking part.
A number of beds have become available in recent days, resulting in 89 applicants for international protection being offered a place in specially designed accommodation on Tuesday.
Some men received an email from the International Protection Office advising them to go to the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum before 10am to take up accommodation.
They were advised to take bus number 44 or the Luas Green Line.
A tent clearance operation on the Grand Canal Dublin. Photo: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos
However, there are still a number of tents at the canal and the remaining asylum seekers have yet to be accommodated. Many of the men do not speak English and did not know where to go.
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 rough on the canal bank for a week.
Another man, Brian Mogotsi, said he arrived in Ireland in January and had not been offered 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.”
The newest migrant camp on Dublin's Grand Canal had grown to more than a hundred tents two weeks after a similar camp was dismantled.
Today's news in 90 seconds – May 21, 2024
The new 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.
The removal of the Mount Street Bridge site came just over a week after an extensive camp housing 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. year.
Asylum seekers were taken to accommodation in Crooksling and Citywest at the time after local residents and businesses in the Mount Street area threatened legal action.
In a statement this morning, the Ministry of Integration said: “International Protection Accommodation Services (Ipas) continue to work to ensure that the limited available sleeping space for international protection applicants is prioritized for those most in need, including those living in living in poverty. bad sleeping.”
Last week, Prime Minister Simon Harris defended the government's response to the growing problem of migrant camps, saying he believed “official Ireland was turning a blind eye to the development of what almost became a public health emergency”, regarding the camp on Mount Street. Lower.
He added that government land must be identified very quickly to provide tent accommodation with sanitary facilities.
“It's extremely important. We have obligations in the field of housing and we fulfill them.
“But it's just part of a broader conversation that needs to happen about what a sustainable migration system looks like,” Harris said last week.