Bonkers that Government destroys tents one day and pays for new ones the next

The overwhelming of our international protection system is dangerous. The tents in Dublin city represent a failure of government administration, a health and safety crisis, a symptom of global migration pressures and is an issue ripe for incubating extremist politics. It’s all bad. That being so, the Government was right to clear the tents from Mount Street and bus the applicants up to Crooksling. It was right to clear them again from banks of the Grand Canal on Thursday morning. Crooksling has proper facilities with toilets and showers.

When the Grand Canal tents popped up within days of the Mount Street clearout, I wondered who was paying for them.

Was it a deliberate effort by mysterious activists to embarrass the Government? Were well-intentioned do-gooders undermining government policy?

Nope. Nothing like that.

I was told that some homeless charities were providing the tents. So on Wednesday I phoned one of those named.

That’s when I discovered the identity of the sinister force behind the reconstruction of the tent city creating this crisis for the Government: the Government itself.

The Government – at some expense – removed the tents on Mount Street from outside the International Protection Accommodation Services (Ipas) offices and cleaned up the mess. Unbelievably, within days the same Government had – via Ipas itself – financed the replacement tents appearing on the banks of the Grand Canal.

As I was making my phone calls, Taoiseach Simon Harris was in the Dáil congratulating himself for “taking charge” of the Mount Street situation. He said he believed there had been a “tacit acceptance by many state agencies that the situation on Mount Street could just continue”. He assured the Dáil that the “good action” he had taken to remove the tents on Mount Street would be repeated to remove the tents on the canal bank. And indeed it was.

Except there wasn’t “tacit acceptance” of the tents on Mount Street and Grand Canal bank. State agencies paid for it.

Here’s how it works.

I spoke to Aubrey McCarthy from Tiglin, the homeless charity. Tiglin has a good track record of helping rough sleepers in Dublin. Traditionally, these are drug addicts or severely mentally ill people who aren’t able or don’t want to go into hostels. Tiglin provides them with sleeping bags or sometimes tents. It’s a question of survival, and sadly some don’t survive. Tiglin works directly with state agencies.

When it comes to applicants for international protection, there is a clear system in place. The applicants register at the Ipas office on Mount Street. They’re given a blue card with their details on it and sent to the Tiglin office on Pearse Street. They show the card to Tiglin, which gives them a sleeping bag and tent. Tiglin emails Ipas to confirm the applicant was processed by them and invoices Ipas for the cost.

Tiglin is doing nothing wrong here. Many people would agree the men cannot be left without shelter. Others might say they should be given no help so word goes out that Ireland is best avoided.

This system creates many questions.

Is Simon Harris aware Ipas is creating the tent villages by paying for them?

By destroying tents one day and paying for new ones the next, what is the policy?

Was Ipas driven to this because Crooksling was full and there was literally nowhere else for the men to go? If not, why don’t they bus the men up to Crooksling daily? If the men leave Crooksling, are they bought a second tent?

On Monday, I contacted the Department of Integration asking whether Crooksling was full. No reply. On Tuesday, I phoned and they told me the Department of An Taoiseach was handling all such inquiries. (Interesting. Has the penny dropped Roderic O’Gorman has made a complete mess of all this, which is why the Taoiseach took control?)

I sent my inquiry to the Taoiseach’s department. No reply. I followed up on Wednesday informing them Ipas was paying for the tents. No reply.

If Crooksling was full, and tents were the only option, why was the Government pretending it had nothing to do with the tents? Why pay more money for them to be removed on Thursday? Is this going to happen again next week?

Meanwhile, down at Ipas things were getting even madder.

Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik told the Dáil on Wednesday that a sign had gone up at the Ipas office advising people “they can have an increased daily expense allowance if they leave that tented accommodation”.

So Ipas offered to give the men extra money if they’d leave the nearby tents. The ones it had just paid for and that were torn down on Thursday. Applicants are now being threatened with arrest for erecting new tents, but if Ipas keeps paying for them, how is that fair? This is next-level bonkers.

I often quote the poem by Warsan Shire that goes: “No one runs from home unless home is the mouth of a shark”. People are running from sharks and being scammed by the trafficker sharks to get here. This situation can get worse, there are more sharks and I fear someone will be attacked.

Harris says he has taken charge. But is Ipas going to pay for more tents? If yes, why bother taking them down? If not, is the Government willing to accept that people will be sleeping on the street? Who’s making that decision? If not the Taoiseach, who precisely is in charge? This mess is not over yet.

‘When the tents popped up within days, I wondered who was paying for them... That’s when I discovered the identity of the sinister force behind tent city creating this crisis for the Government: the Government itself ’