About 100 homeless asylum seekers, some of whom had queued for five hours believing they would get accommodation, were ordered to “disperse and leave” the area around the International Protection Office (IPO) in Dublin on Thursday, immediately on being told they would not get shelter.
Some of the men accused Department of Children and Integration staff of “playing with people’s minds” and “lying” as they read a letter, handed to them shortly before 3pm, telling there would be “no further offers of accommodation” at this time.
Many, including teenagers, had slept rough on Wednesday night after their tents had been cleared from the pavements around the IPO on Mount Street Lower that morning.
While 285 asylum seekers were brought from the Mount Street encampment since mid-March to new accommodation in Crooksling, Citywest and Swords, not all who wanted accommodation were offered any. Others brought to Swords and Citywest were told on arrival there was none for them and bussed back to the city centre.
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Ministers met on Thursday at the Cabinet Committee on Migration to discuss the State’s response to the issue of immigration, where the changes were discussed.
Planning rules around modular builds may be changed to give the State the ability to build a greater level of rapid builds for international protection applicants as well as Ukrainian refugees.
At present, regulations allow the Government to fast-track the development of modular units for Ukrainian refugees. Two Government sources said that this may be extended to include units for international protection applicants and, eventually, students.
Ministers discussed in-depth future plans for accommodation for both refugees and asylum seekers with the Government keen to move to a longer term plan for use of modular accommodation given a recent drop in the number of Ukrainian refugees seeking support in Ireland.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee told the meeting that fast processing times for safe countries has reduced the numbers of people coming to Ireland from those countries by 50 per cent.
An accelerated process has been in place for eight countries since November 2022. Applications from these counties have halved.
She said Georgia was added to the safe countries list when it had the highest number of applicants, pointing out that it is now not in the top ten.
The meeting also heard an update on legislation the Cabinet approved to close the legal loophole following the High Court ruling that the UK could not be considered a safe country. Ministers were told that the new laws would be passed through the Houses of the Oireachtas by June. McEntee said the current situation means a Nigerian who comes to Ireland through the UK will be returned to Nigeria if their application for asylum is unsuccessful.
The Government wants to send a “clear signal” that people coming across the border need to be aware they will be sent back to Nigeria if a negative decision is given.
The committee also heard that there were 513 deportation orders issued up to the end of April.
Of these, 186 were removed from the State, including 136 voluntary repatriations.
From 7am on Thursday men began queuing at the IPO believing they would be offered accommodation. As the queue grew the men were in good spirits and word spread at least one bus would arrive around 3pm to bring them to shelter.
By 2pm about 100 men were queuing and waiting in the area.
Copies of a five-paragraph letter where distributed to the men. It said: “Due to accommodation shortage within IPAS no further offers of accommodation can be made at this time. We have recorded your details and when appropriate accommodation becomes available, we will contact you by email with an offer.”
Stapled to the letter was a page listing “information on the services available to you and details on the weekly payment of €113.80 for which all international protection applicants awaiting offer of accommodation are eligible”.
A man from Nigeria who has slept in a tent for two months said he did not know “how to feel”.
“Even if they gave us a date or pick a small number of people every day to get accommodation, that would be easier. The money they give us is not enough to pay for a hostel,” he said.
A Palestinian man in his 40s, gesturing towards the IPO offices, said: “This is a lying machine.”
An Afghan man in his 50s, asked his response to the letter, shook his head and held up his hand, becoming emotional.
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Quickly gardaí told the men they had to leave and began ushering them away, leading to a brief standoff as one man, a Nigerian, remonstrated with them.
“We are going,” he told four gardaí in a line before him. “There is no way we are going to sleep here. We are going but now we are trying to digest what just happened.”
“We understand your frustrations, but you need to disperse from the area,” said one of the gardaí.
“I am not frustrated. I am giving out,” replied the man. “It is not easy to sleep in the streets. The whole day we wait. They are playing with people’s minds. We don’t even have tents.”
“Yes we understand that,” repeated the Garda. “I understand your frustration.”
“No one is fighting anyone,” continued the man. “We came in the morning. We were told to wait. Then we were given paper ... The same story again. They are just wasting our time, frustrating us more. It is not fair. I know it is not your problem. We respect you as the law, but we are human beings. No one has a tent now. No one.”
Among the services listed with the letter was the Tiglin cafe in the Lighthouse charity on nearby Pearse Street. Chief executive Aubrey McCarthy was on Thursday anticipating an upsurge in demand for tents and sleeping bags that night.
“I know the situation on Mount Street was untenable, but it is frustrating. We have spent over €30,000 on tents and sleeping bags in the last few months and most of those are now broken up in the back of a truck now. But look, we are ready. We have extra tents and sleeping bags in again, but we are totally out of men’s coats, jumpers, shoes.”
The Department of Integration was asked when accommodation would become available for the men.
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