When barricades were erected along Dublin’s Mount Street on May 1st last year, there was a sense of “relief” and even “celebrations” among some residents and business owners.
The barriers were installed around the International Protection Office (IPO) and its surrounding areas by Dublin City Council (DCC) after a significant operation saw the removal of the more than 200 tents which had built up.
The encampment had grown due to a lack of State-provided accommodation for male international protection applicants, while the barriers were to act as a deterrent to prevent the erection of further tents or rough sleeping.
Some 12 months later, what was initially believed by residents to be a short-term measure has become the norm, with those living and working in the area “barricaded in” and fighting for the removal of the fences.
Some residents who spoke to The Irish Times described feeling “locked up”, believing “it’s never ever going to change”.
Others described themselves as “fuming” that the barricades have remained for so long and highlighted a general lack of engagement from DCC and Government departments on the issue.
“It’s like I’m living in a prison,” said Fran Nolan, a resident in her 70s who downsized and moved from Sandycove to an apartment on Mount Street 11 years ago.
Her building is surrounded by barricades and every morning, she pulls back her bedroom curtains and sees the “depressing” fencing stretched along her street, behind which weeds grow large and litter builds up.
The barricades have become a source of “embarrassment,” she added.
“Usually, I have American friends coming to stay with me here and I said to them this year, ‘Please, don’t come’.
“It’s so upsetting when I think of what I have to pay in taxes and everything else to live here, and to be treated like this at this stage of my life,” she said, adding that she and others have been “totally disregarded”.
Ideally, those living and working on Mount Street would prefer the barriers to be removed and replaced with security personnel to patrol the area instead. This would be similar to the measures taken by Waterways Ireland at the Grand Canal.
While DCC did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publishing, its chief executive, Richard Shakespeare, told business owner Ruth Hamilton two weeks ago that the barricades are “considered an effective method of ensuring people do not rough sleep or set up camp on the footpaths.
“24-hour security is not something that the city council would consider as it would set a precedent for various other areas of the city that experience similar issues,” he said in an email.
Alongside security patrols, Hamilton suggested the installation of planters or poles instead of the fencing. Shakespeare responded, however, that the council did not believe these would be an “effective deterrent here, albeit they may look nicer”.
Hamilton, with her husband Clint, owns Mamma Mia, a restaurant on Grattan Street which is located behind the IPO and surrounded by barricades.
“Any suggestion that I’ve brought to them, they’re not taking them on. As far as I’m aware, DCC is happy to leave them up there,” she says.
Describing the encampment which surrounded the IPO as a “disaster” for her business, she was initially relieved to see the barricades. She believed, at the time, they would be a short-term measure for two months or so until a more practical plan was developed.
“People are not going to come into my restaurant and spend money to look out at a horrific view,” she said.
“It’s heartbreaking because our business was booming before the tents and these barriers and, now, we’re actually just going month by month at this stage,” she said, adding: “Our business is on its knees. We just feel like we’ve been completely forgotten about. It’s hard to believe that it’s still going on.”
Footfall at Mamma Mia has “completely diminished” due to the barricades, preventing a recovery from an already severe downturn due to the encampment previously on its doorstep.
Michael Finlay, the owner of the Punnet Health Store, a shop, cafe and deli, however, describes the barricades as the “lesser of two evils”.
“For six months, I was dragging tents off the front of my property to try and get into work every day, but the barricades have come with their own set of problems,” he said.
While revenue fell by 70 to 80 per cent at the time of tents, it remains at least 30 per cent below what it was prior, which he attributes to the barricades.
“Without fail, every single day, I’ll have at least five or six conversations with customers about it.
“Everyone was happy when something was done about the actual tent city, but the longer it’s dragged on, it’s sapped everyone’s energy,” he said.
Although he has largely become used to the barricades, it dawns on Finlay how “abnormal” they are at certain moments, including when he “tip toes” around them to carry in stock.
“It has a very detrimental effect on the business but also on the psyche of the area. here’s quite a demoralised tone at the moment,” he said.
