Dublin destroys its latest tent city as Ireland struggles to deal with the influx of migrants blamed on Britain’s Rwanda policy
Irish authorities have dismantled another ‘tent city’ in Dublin as the country continues to deal with an influx of migrants, many of whom have arrived from Britain.
Asylum seekers had set up more than 100 tents in a makeshift camp along Dublin’s Grand Canal, a short walk from the International Protection Office, as the government struggles to provide them with accommodation.
Photos show the early morning operation, with crews checking the tents were empty before being spray-painted with an ‘X’ and placed onto a truck by a ‘grab’ machine.
The camp emerged along the waterway just days after more than 200 asylum seekers were released from a similar makeshift camp in nearby Mount Street.
The removal comes amid an ongoing row with the British government over asylum seekers crossing the border from Northern Ireland, with claims they are doing so to avoid deportation to Rwanda.
Tents were spray painted with an ‘X’ before being placed onto a truck by a ‘grab’ machine
Men living in the tents were seen leaving the area this morning ahead of the removal operation
Gardai were seen searching the area before the removal as the road was closed to traffic
A large number of asylum seekers are said to have boarded the bus at 7:30 this morning
The Irish government said the operation on Thursday morning involved Irish police, Dublin City Council, the National Health Service, the Department of Integration and a waterways authority.
The operation was faster than the previous week, removing people who had been living in the roadside camp for months.
A large number of asylum seekers reportedly boarded the bus at 7:30 am today, while the operation concluded at 7:45 am.
The Irish government said all asylum seekers had been moved to accommodation in County Dublin, with a total of 186 asylum seekers in the suburb of Citywest and 99 in Crooksling, an hour from the city center in the Dublin mountains.
A government statement said: ‘The aim of the operation is to safely move people seeking international protection from tents on the Grand Canal to accommodation designated by the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS).
‘The accommodation designated by IPAS has toilets and showers; healthcare; 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 security on site.”
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris told parliament on Wednesday that the similar operation last week had a “very positive impact” and had averted a “near public health emergency”.
A crane operator removes the tents from the water area and lifts them into a truck for removal
The operation involved the Irish Police, Dublin City Council, the National Health Service, the Department of Integration and a waterways authority
He said: ‘I continue to believe this was the right action. Four weeks ago I became Prime Minister and took charge of this situation.
‘I think many government agencies had tacitly accepted that the situation on Mount Street could continue and was simply the new normal. That wasn’t right.’
He added: “We will tackle the Grand Canal. Action will be taken.”
Justice Secretary Helen McEntee, who recently claimed that more than 80 percent of migrants in Ireland enter through Northern Ireland to avoid deportation to Rwanda, said the government must ensure a tent city does not return.
‘Once people have moved, measures are taken to ensure this does not happen again.
Crews towed pop-up tents from the area, which was closed to pedestrians and cyclists during the operation
Asylum seekers leave with their belongings during an early morning operation by Irish authorities to remove tents
The asylum seekers moved into the area after another makeshift migrant camp around the International Protection Office (IPO) on Mount Street, Dublin, was dismantled last week.
“If they get that accommodation, it’s also very important that we don’t see scenes like we’re seeing in Mount Street again, that it can’t happen again, that we have hundreds of tents – not just outside the International Protection Office – but outside the houses of people, outside of people’s companies.’
Tensions between London and Dublin over migration have increased in recent weeks, with each blaming the other for their immigration problems.
Rishi Sunak declared last month that he is ‘not interested’ in taking migrants back from Ireland as the EU refuses to take back Channel migrants who have arrived from France.
His comments were a sharp response to senior Irish ministers who warned they would draw up emergency laws to force refugees back to Britain.
Taoiseach Simon Harris vowed to pass new laws to ease the return of migrants after the country’s courts ruled that Britain could not be classified as ‘safe’ because of its pact with Rwanda.
But the UK government said it would ignore any law passed by Ireland, with a Number 10 spokesperson stating: ‘Even if Ireland were to pass legislation, it is up to the UK government to decide who it allows into the country or not.
‘We will not accept returns from the EU, just as France will not accept returns from Britain.’
Amid domestic pressure to get asylum seekers off the streets and into shelter, Harris on Friday defended his government’s handling of the issue.
On May 1, a truck crane was even used to pull the canvas constructions loose from the sidewalk and deposit them in a container.
Tents cluster near the Office of International Protection in Dublin, serving as temporary shelters for asylum seekers on April 30, 2024
He said ‘makeshift encampments’ on public roads and footpaths are illegal and ‘never the solution’.
“It is also not in the interest of the people who sleep in those tents, people who do not have access to proper sanitation,” he said.
Mr Harris added: “We are working on this every day, but I have to be clear and honest with the people who come to our country. We are doing our utmost in very difficult and challenging circumstances to provide accommodation.
‘But housing is not always immediately available, but we continue to work on it day in and day out.
“The conversation about migration cannot just be about housing, because no matter how much accommodation you have, if it is just a conversation about accommodation, the accommodation will become filled.
‘It must also be a conversation about faster turnaround times, about efficient and effective systems.’