Inside abandoned Dublin homeless camp after rough sleepers ‘moved on’ despite ‘not causing hassle’

Although rough sleepers had made a temporary home in a wooded area outside of Dublin some people tried to move them on

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• 09:14, 26 AUG 2023
• Updated11:21, 26 AUG 2023

‘They didn’t cause any hassle’: Homeless fleeing streets of capital are moved on

A wooded area near a suburb just outside of Dublin that was used as a camp by people experiencing homelessness has been abandoned after they were moved away by some people in the area.

The Irish Mirror visited the camp located beside the Tolka River in Ashtown, which has since been abandoned by the rough sleepers who had made a temporary home there after leaving the city centre amid fears of being assaulted. The forest area is now strewn with abandoned tents, burnt wooden structures and clothing.

Despite causing no problems for anyone in the area, the group were eventually moved on by some people who “started to blame them for everything”.

Speaking to this publication one local, who did not wish to be named, said that the rough sleepers have gone for around four months now after some people “went in and tried to move them off”.

“They come and go. The guys that were up on the other side of the river there, they were there for about three or four months, I think. Further up the river, they are gone now for a couple of months,” he said.

“There were actually local people who went in and tried to move them off. I don’t know why, maybe there was some incident in the community.

“You feel sorry for these people, you don’t want to see anybody sleeping on the streets, unfortunately, the housing problem here is huge.

“Then with the incoming Ukrainians and different nationalities. There is plenty of room but there is nowhere for them to sleep.”

Another local man who also did not want to be named added that the people who were staying there did not cause any “hassle” but following a social media post people began to “blame them for everything.”

The local said: “No problem whatsoever, they didn’t cause any hassle, no one even saw them and then everyone went mad on social media, they picked up on the fact that they were there and started to blame them for everything.

“No, they didn’t cause any problem at all. They didn’t affect the community at all.”

According to the latest figures from the Department of Housing released at the end of July, there were 8,835 adults accessing emergency accommodation in June. 6,424 of these were in Dublin. This figure was up from 8,742 in May.

There were also 3,765 children classified as homeless, up 66 from last month. Some 1,804 families were living in emergency accommodation in June.

Just last month, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns expressed concern about child homelessness in Ireland, which showed a 65 per cent increase when looking at May figures.