Asylum seeker camp in Dublin’s Phoenix Park cleared

A group of asylum seekers has been moved on from the Phoenix Park after pitching their tents there following a camp clearance operation in Dublin city centre earlier this week.

Sixteen tents had been erected in the park on Friday afternoon. The tents were cleared at about 6pm by staff from the Office of Public Works (OPW) and gardaí.

A spokeswoman for the OPW had earlier said camping and overnight parking were “not permitted” in the park due to “health and safety concerns and potential damage to these fragile sites”. She noted that while the park was open 24 hours, the majority of the park was unlit at night and thus unsafe. She said the OPW was engaging with the Simon Community Outreach team, which was assisting the people concerned.

On Friday afternoon many of those staying in the tents had left for the day to avail of a lunch service some 5km away provided by the Lighthouse charity on Pearse street. One man walking out of the campsite said he had arrived in Dublin on Friday morning and pitched his tent in the park following advice from local volunteers.

The campsite was some 6km from the International Protection Office on Mount Street where asylum seekers were camping earlier this year. It appeared after gardaí on Wednesday removed tents from a site at Charlemont Place in the south inner city where about 60 international protection applicants had been sleeping.

More metal barriers were erected at the site, adding to the kilometres of fencing lining the Grand Canal to prevent people from pitching tents. Waterways Ireland has said the barriers will remain in place until October.

The latest figures from the International Protection Accommodation Services show 2,353 asylum-seeking men are homeless and awaiting accommodation, up from 2,228 last week.