The former residents of Mount Street’s ‘Tent City’ are “happy” to get away from the place. 

For months, hundreds of international protection applicants have been living on the Dublin street in tents due to a lack of State accommodation.

Today, officials announced ‘Tent City’ was to be cleared, accommodation had been found and the former residents would be forbidden from returning.

Newstalk’s chief Reporter Barry Whyte asked some of Tent City’s former residents how they felt about the decision to move them on.

“Speaking to some of the asylum seekers there, some of the guys said they can’t really pick and chose,” he told The Hard Shoulder.

“They’ve been living in tents in Mount Street for so long, they were happy just to going somewhere there are showers and toilets.

“Others said they thought the tents were cold, they hadn’t been there long enough to find phone chargers.

“Overall, most of the asylum seekers were happy to be in Crooksling, most of them were happy to get away from Mount Street.”

The operation to clear Tent City began early this morning, when asylum seekers were woken by officials with letters informing them they could no longer stay in the area.

“I saw HSE officials,” reporter Stephanie Rohan said.

“They were masked and they went around tent to tent with a clipboard, speaking to the men, taking details, telling them where they were going and there were five large buses and around two trucks with grabbers on them to take up the tents.

“They arrived then and there was a huge Garda presence - I mean huge.”

Tents outside the International Protection Office in Dublin city, 7-3-24. Image: Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ie

After residents were informed, the area was “completely blocked off” and the men were told to pack up their belongings and get on buses.

“By 10 o’clock, all the asylum seekers, pretty much, had been moved on and then officials from Dublin City Council came in, they were gowned up and they started sweeping and completely hosing down the area,” Ms Rohan said.

“The smell of disinfectant was very pungent in the area.”

The men relocated to Dublin’s Citywest hotel or tented accommodation at Crooksling.

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