Almost 100 complaints made about barriers along Dublin's Grand Canal

Ellen O'Donoghue

Almost 100 complaints have been made about temporary fences along the Grand Canal in Dublin.

Waterways Ireland has got 91 complaints about the temporary fences that were erected three months ago to stop asylum seekers and homeless people camping along the stretch.

They were pulled down at a recent protest but have since been reinstalled.

Residents along the grand canal in Dublin say tents are continually popping up beside the waterway despite barriers.

Kevin Byrne from the South Georgian Core Residents’ Association told Newstalk it is only a sticking plaster.

“The underlying issue, of course, is that there are almost two and a half thousand unaccommodated asylum seekers and most of them are sleeping rough in the capital, so half measures like canal barriers are a consequence of that,” he said.

The barriers have been in place since the end of May to stop asylum seekers and homeless people camping along the waterway.

88 informal complaints and 3 formal grievances have been lodged with Waterways Ireland, according to the Irish Times.

“We’ve lost the public community for the whole summer and habits have been lost. People are avoiding the steel corridors there, don’t feel safe in them and tents tend to be popping up again,” Mr Byrne added.