The Take Back Our Spaces Coalition, which includes Dublin branches of the Communities Action Tenants Union (CATU), People Before Profit Dublin and Social Rights Ireland, among others, will hold a demonstration outside the Department of Integration on Baggot Street at 1pm on August 17.
The campaigners have named the protest as Home Not Fences, demanding the Government provide adequate accommodation for International Protectional Applicants, not barriers.
Announcing the protest, a spokesperson for the coalition wrote: “The past months have seen collusion among state bodies to harass, exclude, and otherwise make life harder for our homeless neighbours on the Grand Canal.
“This has been executed as a deliberate campaign of gardaí destroying the makeshift homes people are having to live in, and Waterways Ireland installing hostile architecture in the form of fencing to exclude everyone from enjoying the public space of the canal.
“But the root cause of why people are having to live in tents in the first place is the housing crisis created by successive government policies, and by the Department of Integration shamefully failing in its obligation to house those most in need of protection,” they added.
On July 18, protesters tore down barriers erected by Waterways Ireland along the Grand Canal following a protest calling for their removal.
Fencing along the grand canal to prevent people setting up tents. Pic: Gerry Mooney
Around 200 demonstrators assembled in Portobello, urging Waterways Ireland to take down the barriers that had been put up to prevent people from setting up tents along the Grand Canal.
A spokesperson for Waterways Ireland confirmed it is incurring costs of approximately €30,000 per week for the fencing, and that the current situation along the canal is “not ideal”.
“It is necessary to mitigate risk to health and safety, which is our overriding concern,” it said.
“Erecting temporary fencing along the canal is not something we had ever envisaged, and we are committed to fully reopening all sections of the Grand Canal as soon as possible.
“We met with representatives from local communities along the canal to listen to their concerns and discuss how the canal amenity can be fully reopened, without compromising health and safety, or public health.
“Waterways Ireland is exploring a number of options to achieve a full reopening of the canal amenity, including accelerating a landscaping and biodiversity programme for the areas in question.”
Waterways Ireland said it hopes work will begin on the ground in October, but is committed to starting it earlier if possible.