Dublin [Ireland], May 2: Hundreds of asylum seekers who were living in tents in central Dublin have been moved to two accommodation sites, the Irish government has said.
The asylum seekers had been living in a makeshift campsite outside the International Protection Office on Mount Street for several months.
The Irish government said 285 single male applicants were offered accommodation on Wednesday.
The Irish government said the encampment had been dismantled and all asylum seekers had now been moved to Citywest and Crooksling tented accommodation in County Dublin. A total of 186 applicants were taken to Citywest and a further 99 were accommodated at Crooksling.
A joint agency operation to "ensure the safe movement of people seeking international protection" to designated accommodation took place early on Wednesday morning
The streets in the area were also cleaned by the city's council.
The operation on Wednesday morning was undertaken by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Justice, Gardaí (Irish police), Dublin City Council, the Office of Public Works and the HSE.
The government previously tried to move asylum seekers to the Crooksling site over the St Patrick's Day bank holiday weekend.
A number returned to the Mount Street site a few hours later citing the facility was not appropriate, did not have adequate facilities and was too rural with no transport links.
The Irish government said on Wednesday that the Crooksling site had "10 to 12 person robust, weather-proof tents".
It also has showers, toilets, indoor areas where food is provided, facilities to charge phones and personal devices, access to and from the city centre as well as 24-hour onsite security.
It also added those in Crooksling would receive the same support as at other locations.
Five buses and 19 taxis were used to move the asylum seekers.
Speaking in the Dail (Irish parliament) on Tuesday, Taoiseach (prime minister) Simon Harris said that once asylum seekers sleeping on the street were given accommodation, the encampment would not be allowed to return.
Contractors, some wearing protective clothing, cleared the tents from the street.
The Irish government said on Wednesday that Dublin City Council and the Office of Public Works will "secure the area of Mount Street where the tents were placed, with street furniture and traffic management measures in place to prevent the placement of tents".
It said it did not "envisage an encampment building up on Mount Street again" with street furniture and traffic management measures being put in place.
"This underlines how important it is that the Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy is rolled out successfully so that sufficient accommodation is provided, and sleeping outside the International Protection Office isn't necessary."
It said applicants "will be transferred from these sites when appropriate accommodation is identified within the IPAS (International Protection Accommodation Services) accommodation portfolio".
"Given the need to ensure that there is sufficient capacity for families, including those with children, it is not possible to give timelines."
The Irish government said the "offer of accommodation in IPAS centres is voluntary and some applicants are understood to have not taken up a place at their assigned centre".
"IPAS will continue to engage with these applicants and efforts will be made to ensure these applicants do not continue to reside at the Mount Street location."
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation