Fresh operation to clear tents from along Grand Canal carried out

Cillian Sherlock, PA

A multi-agency operation to remove an encampment established by asylum seekers in Dublin city centre was carried out on Thursday morning.

The operation to dismantle the tents pitched along the Grand Canal began shortly after 7am.

Workers sprayed numbers on around 80 tents before the operation commenced.

The Government has said it is not currently in a position to provide accommodation for all male asylum seekers arriving in the State. The latest figures show there were 1,939 applicants awaiting an offer of accommodation.

Contractors began erecting additional barriers around the site from 5am on Thursday.

More than 90 minutes passed before the international protection applicants were informed by volunteers they were being asked to move.

The volunteers assisted with uncovering tarps from the tents as they made efforts to ensure the applicants were awake and packed before the operation began.

Gardaí began to arrive at the scene from 6.45am.

The men started boarding multiple coaches to be transferred to other sites at 7am.

This is the fifth time asylum seekers sleeping in tents have been moved from parts of the city in recent months, twice at the International Protection Office on Mount Street and three times along the Grand Canal.

Hundreds of applicants have been offered state-provided shelter at multiple sites as part of the operations.

The Government has said the sites are equipped with robust, weatherproof tents, toilet and shower facilities, health services, 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 onsite security.