Barriers may continue to be erected on Grand Canal to avoid tent encampments
As Waterways Ireland appeared in front of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday, they confirmed that €125,000 has been spent on the barriers to date, including €45,000 on renting fences
Fences will continue to be erected along the Grand Canal in Dublin if more tent encampments are established, an Oireachtas Committee has heard.
As Waterways Ireland appeared in front of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday, they confirmed that €125,000 has been spent on the barriers to date, including €45,000 on renting fences.
The fences have been erected following repeated multi-agency operations to remove asylum seekers’ tents from along the canal.
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Although there are no longer tents along the banks, the barriers are still set up and most of the canal is still closed off.
During the PAC meeting, Fianna Fáil’s James O’Connor described them as "hideous eyesores".
John McDonagh, CEO of Waterways Ireland, told the PAC Chairman that there is currently 2km worth of fencing along the canal. This, he said, is four times the length of Grafton Street.
"Would you move it again, if it goes 4km or 5km?" Deputy Stanley asked.
"If that happens, we will," Mr McDonagh replied.
In response to Deputy O’Connor, Mr McDonagh said there has been no contact between Waterways Ireland and the Department of Integration or Mr O’Gorman’s office and that "we made that decision".
Eanna Rowe, Waterways Ireland’s Operations Controller, said that 330 tents have been removed from the Grand Canal since May 9.
"Our primary concern is health and safety," he said.
"The canal banks are not appropriate sites for tented encampments
"The picture that we sent through shows exactly how dangerous these tented encampments were on the banks of our canals, not only on deep lock structures, but also on jetties and on waiting jetties beside deep water.
"We asked them not to camp on our property."
Mr McDonagh said that the current situation is "a very unsightly short-term solution", while Mr Rowe said there are "four options" Waterways Ireland is considering.
This includes removing the fencing and allowing free access to the canal banks, removing the fencing and bringing in 24-hour "patrolling", leaving the fencing in place in the longer term "until the situation is resolved" and "accelerating plans that we've already had in place with partners, including DCC to undertake landscaping and biodiversity programme along the city canals".
He added: "We can remove that fencing as the landscape is happening."
In the Dáil on Wednesday, Taoiseach Simon Harris told Labour leader Ivana Bacik that "some barriers have been removed in certain locations", including at the International Protection Office on Mount Street.
He said: "I also know there are quite a lot of barriers up. It is a matter for Waterways Ireland to decide when best to remove them and it is obviously having to balance a number of different challenges."
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