Letters

Tents and Government asylum policy

What’s coming down the line

Letters to the Editor. Illustration: Paul Scott

The Irish Times - Letters to the Editor.

Thu May 23 2024 - 00:05

Sir, – There have now been three “tent city” clean-ups in Dublin. On each occasion new tents are removed and immediately new tents are distributed to those who remain to start a new encampment. The tents are distributed free, but at a cost to the taxpayer, so where is the logic in bin trucks on each occasion repeating the same ritual of removal? The first “tent city” was in Mount Street, where there were no sanitation or services. It developed in February 2023 and remained until the St Patrick’s Day clean-up in March 2024. We are now told that each of the new tent encampment locations were closed due to lack of facilities, so why was the Mount Street tent encampment left in place for 13 months?

The projected immigrant figure is circa 20,000 by year’s end so it doesn’t take a genius to work out what’s coming down the line. The Government is now panicking.

The land of open and warm welcomes is now becoming history due to the totally inadequate planning by all those responsible for handling our immigrant situation. – Yours, etc,

FINBARR DOLAN,

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Dublin 16.

Sir, –The situation on the banks of the Grand Canal is now a recurring farce. Why is metal fencing being put up to deter more tents when a small number of gardaí could walk the banks as part of their beat and prevent more tents from being located there? Is there a community in Dublin that would not welcome seeing a Garda Síochána presence on the ground, generally? – Yours, etc,

ULTAN Ó BROIN,

Blackrock,

Co Dublin.

Sir, – The Government gives taxpayers’ money to multiple charities. The charities spend this money buying tents for asylum seekers.

The Government and its agencies then destroy these tents.

Only in Ireland! – Yours, etc,

ALAN McCARTHY,

Dublin 6.

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