Ireland’s police clear Dublin migrant camp

POLICE in Ireland moved to clear hundreds of migrants from a makeshift campsite in central Dublin yesterday.

Around 200 asylum seekers were reportedly moved from the camp, outside a government office, to another tent site in the Dublin mountains.

The people had been camping outside the International Protection Office on Mount Street for months, while they awaited the processing of asylum claims. They were taken by bus to Saggart, about 10 miles away, where they were given tents to pitch, the Irish Mirror reported.

Leo Varadkar, the prime minister, told RTE News the migrants were moved for “health and safety reasons”. The new site, in Crooksling in southwest County Dublin, is cleaner and has showers, he said.

The original site had come under criticism for becoming squalid, with rubbish strewn around. Reports had described an overwhelming stench of urine and excrement and men being forced to wash in the street.

The Irish Refugee Council welcomed the move but said it hoped the people were taken to “appropriate accommodation where they can recuperate”. Others, however, dismissed the move as a cynical ploy timed with the weekend St Patrick’s Day celebrations in mind.

A statement from the department of integration said: “The department has offered alternative shelter to all international protection applicants camped on Mount Street. “All those who accepted the offer will be provided tented accommodation at a site in Crooksling, where food, personal toiletries, toilet and shower facilities are also available.

“The department will engage with the HSE and health care providers to ensure the well-being of those on site.”

Jennifer Whitmore, of the Social Democrats, spoke of “men moved from one tent to another … just this time, it’s in the country and away from Dublin’s St Patrick’s Day parade”.

Migration has become a thorny issue in Ireland with anti-immigration sentiment rising. The Gardai has expressed concerns over arson attacks on properties due to house asylum seekers, such as a former nursing home in Crooksling that went up in flames last month.