Asylum seekers have pitched their tents in the Ballsbridge area of Dublin after being moved on from the Grand Canal yesterday following another operation to clear an encampment there.
A number of tents have been erected on a green space where four roads converge: Clyde Road, Pembroke Park, Wellington Place and Wellington Road.
Over 100 asylum seekers were displaced yesterday after a 6am operation to remove tents placed at the Baggot Street Bridge area of the Grand Canal.
It was the latest in a series of similar tent-clearing operations, following which fencing has been erected to block off green space along the canal to prevent the return of the camps.
The fencing now stretches along nearly 3km of the canal, with Waterways Ireland saying that the cost of hiring and erecting the fences this month has reached an estimated €36,000.
Speaking recently to reporters about the situation, Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman said that his Department is trying to provide better State accommodation for asylum seekers who are currently sleeping rough.
“In terms of providing accommodation for those who are currently unaccommodated, my Department has been working hard over the last week, and we will have additional capacity available across this week.
“We will be working hard with other government agencies to ensure we can provide offers to those currently sleeping rough on the Grand Canal,” Minister O’Gorman said May 20.