Photo credit: the Guardian
Twenty asylum seekers with tents, some of whom arrived in Ireland on Thursday, were cleared from the Grand Canal in Dublin on the same day.
The Irish Times reports that several gardai were at the site shortly before 10 pm after receiving reports of trespassing from Waterways Ireland security staff who were patrolling the area.
The men had set up their tents shortly after 9:30 pm but were told to leave by gardai who arrived at the site about 15 minutes later as it was private property owned by Waterways Ireland.
The asylum seekers left the area and walked towards the city centre.
A 48-year-old man from Sudan said he had been consistently told to move on wherever he pitched the tent provided by homeless services.
“We are told we have to move, every day, to a different place,” he said.
Some of those present had been sleeping in hostels but could no longer afford to do so, while others had sought refuge in mosques.
While accommodation offers are coming “much faster” than previously, charities are identifying and referring those who remain unaccommodated to International Protection Accommodation Services.
But offers can take days for new arrivals sleeping rough. According to volunteers, others have left or were expelled from IPAS accommodation due to disputes or altercations and have been on the streets for weeks.
The chief executive of Irish Refugee Council, Nick Henderson asked, “Is it really in the interest of justice to move people on from a small piece of grassland late at night in the beginning of winter?”
“As we see it, Government policy is forcing people into a dilemma where they are having to sleep rough and put themselves at risk of harm to try to be considered eligible for accommodation.”
Meanwhile, those without State-provided accommodation are trying to source their accommodation, although this is likely to put them at the risk of exploitation, he said.
