Gardaí have said that two arrests were made in relation to a protest held in the vicinity of a proposed direct provision centre in Ballybrack, County Dublin yesterday evening.
The two men, one aged in his 40s and the other in his 20s “were arrested under the Public Order Act and taken to a Garda station in Dublin,” a garda spokesperson said.
“Both men have since been charged and will appear in court at a later date.”
Gardaí say investigations are ongoing.
80 to 100 people had gathered at a crossroads in the Military road area to protest the establishment of a direct provision centre in a disused period building.
Gript reporters were told that 60 men are to be accommodated in the building, which was recently vandalised, with locals saying that they fear for the safety of their community as the asylum seekers are “all male” and “unvetted”.
Protests in Ballybrack have been ongoing since around Tuesday of last week when locals say they became aware that mattresses and bedding was being moved into the building.
One lady called Margaret told us that people from the village had initially been told the building was going to be used as officers, but that a workman had later said it was to become a direct provision centre.
Gatherings have been taking place on what we were told is a daily basis since then, with reports that interactions with gardaí up until yesterday were overall “pleasant”.
The mother of six told us that the actions of some teenagers in relation to the protests had given the people in the area a ‘bad name’, but that this was not a fair or accurate representation of local sentiments.
Another local woman called Kim told us that if there were women and children among the asylum seekers, she felt the community would be ‘happy to help’ but expressed fear for the welfare of vulnerable individuals in the area having seen reports from around the country of unrest related occupants of other direct provision centres.