Politicians voice concern over nature of protests against housing for refugees

Politicians have expressed concern at the ability of far-right groups to exploit community anger over a lack of consultation about the housing of refugees and asylum seekers in some areas.

Demonstrations in Dublin’s East Wall area over the arrival of dozens of men in recent days have generated a noticeable response from fringe interests online and on the ground. Local representatives said this followed a lack of consultation about the move from the Department of Children, which is responsible for housing people at a time when accommodation options are in short supply.

“A vacuum is formed,” said Fine Gael councillor Ray McAdam of cases where information is not provided in advance. “When you have a vacuum, all sorts of information and details are bandied about; a lot of it is false but very quickly it is perceived to be true.”

Since plans to use a former ESB office building in East Wall as an accommodation centre emerged late last week, a good deal of anti-immigration rhetoric has circulated online in response. With protests being promoted through social media, the line between local concerns around a lack of consultation and the broader agendas of certain groups has been blurred.

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[ East Wall residents protest against new refugee accommodation ]

A second demonstration took place on Monday in response to the arrival of 100 male asylum seekers in East Wall and the same number at a property on North Richmond Street. The arrival of people from Afghanistan, Nigeria and Somalia was not flagged to Dublin City Council officials and councillors, political sources suggested.

“It’s a bit much to arrange a meeting with councillors on a Friday evening after people have moved in already,” said Labour councillor Joe Costello, who called for officials to circulate information leaflets in advance.

‘Far-right’ fuel

“It’s the sort of scenario that gives fuel to the far-right. They can play on it and get people’s fears worked up.”

A video posted online on Sunday showed a man, having apparently walked out of the East Wall facility, being approached and questioned by a “citizen journalist” who had made similar recordings in Kill, Co Kildare, and Killarney, Co Kerry, other areas where accommodation plans have sparked unrest.

“Do strangers come into your country?” he was asked.

Another man can be heard asking: “Are you here claiming asylum [wearing] them nice runners?”

Other videos showed men being filmed disembarking a bus, the entire scenario referred to in one post as the “new plantation of Ireland”.

Politicians believe such responses are the product of far-right and, in other cases, far-left groups who often piggyback on the concerns of local residents. Demonstrations organised locally are then promoted online and exploited to further political agendas.

Playing down anti-immigrant sentiment generally, Green Party councillor Janet Horner said a large proportion of the community in the East Wall area came from outside Ireland and had been welcomed.

Frustration felt

“People live well alongside each other; there are [as] many languages, colours, ethnic foods as you will find elsewhere in the country,” she said, while also noting the frustration of some who felt they were left in the dark over the recent plans.

Mr McAdam said the last three days had been “all about the hard-right and the far-left… geeing this up and causing consternation and further fear”.

A campaign in Kill against efforts to house refugees at a local equestrian centre has encountered similar issues. Organisers, in an attempt to protect the legitimacy of their concerns, have attempted to distance themselves from “a small group… that have tried to infiltrate the group and hijack” a demonstration on Sunday.

The Kill group and members of the East Wall community are due to protest outside the Dáil on Tuesday.

Much of the response has stemmed from a sharp rise in the numbers seeking asylum in the State. There have been some 14,000 international protection applications in the last 12 months, up from a previous annual average of some 3,500, and there is currently a chronic lack of available accommodation. Government projections indicate a possible shortfall of 15,000 beds by December.

“The pressure to accommodate over 64,000 people (including those fleeing the war in Ukraine) since the start of the year has led to significant shortages particularly for the international protection cohort,” a Department of Children spokeswoman said. “The department has been forced to avail of all offers of accommodation made, including the use of office buildings such as the building in East Wall.”

Capacity at the East Wall building is 380, with families and single adults accommodated on separate “access-controlled” floors, she said, adding that more information would be provided directly to the community in the coming days.