On Thursday night, numerous barriers that had been constructed along the Grand Canal in South Dublin were dismantled following a rally advocating for refugees in Portobello. The barricades were initially installed by Waterways Ireland back in May on a 2km stretch of the canal to deter homeless asylum seekers who had been using the canal banks as a makeshift camp.
The protest, which saw over 200 people congregated at the plaza next to Nyx hotel in Portobello at 7pm, demanded for the removal of the barriers. A combined force of activists, including representatives from the Community Action Tenants Union (CATU) and the People Before Profit (PBP) party, echoed the public demand. They had already appealed to Waterways Ireland to take down the fencing by July’s end.
Slogans such as “say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here” filled the air as about two dozen protesters toppled the barriers between Portobello and Harold’s Cross bridge.
Police reached the location just after 8pm and a female protester was led away in cuffs. As the crowd dissipated, some police officers proceeded to re-erect and stabilise the fences.
As per Waterways Ireland’s report to an Oireachtas committee earlier in the month, around 330 tents have been cleared from the Dublin canals up to now. The authority has so far incurred €125,000 in expenses on the barriers, with continuing monthly costs estimated at around €20,000.
Representing the United Against Racism group, People Before Profit councillor Darragh Adelaide voiced his opinion that the fences installed along the canal were intended to belittle asylum seekers and refugees.
“There’s a lot of fictions being spread about refugees, claiming that immigrants are causing the housing crisis,” asserted Mr Adelaide.
“It’s completely possible right now for us to construct sufficient houses to accommodate everyone, as well as to have a workforce to manage our hospitals and schools,” he emphasised.
“It doesn’t matter where they come from, any worker who moves here will add more in terms of value to Ireland than what they will extract from it.”
During the assembly, Katrina Koch from the Rathmines-Ranelagh CATU branch expressed that the key problem that should be addressed is firmly the housing crisis, not the so-called crisis of immigration. She pointed out that attempting to solve the issue with fences is not the correct approach.
She expressed her worries regarding the fact that far-right groups are exploiting the justified frustrations of individuals residing in subpar housing conditions, and they’re redirecting this anger towards the most defenceless individuals in our community.
She concluded by pointing out that blaming asylum seekers and the homeless for troubles they didn’t cause serves no purpose.