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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Sarah Barrett

Protesters storm Irish play centre where asylum seekers were being housed

An emergency accommodation centre on the North road in Finglas was allegedly attacked by protesters.

It comes after a Gardaí security assessment of the safety of 50 asylum-seekers was sought.

During the pandemic, Fun Galaxy, a former child’s soft play area on the North Road in Finglas, was previously the location for a Covid-19 testing centre.

READ MORE: Irish pub condemns 'totally out of the ordinary' behaviour after footage goes viral

The building in Finglas was contracted as an emergency accommodation centre for more than 200 asylum-seekers last August in the wake of the accommodation crisis related to the war in Ukraine.

The Irish Independent confirmed that documents made available under Freedom of Information (FoI) revealed that there were plans to move 220 single men quickly into the temporary centre.

25 were moved to the Fun Galaxy centre on August 15 and another 25 on August 16, according to the report.

It alleged that during a delivery at around 9pm on the second night, a small group of people entered the centre and wanted to know why there were beds arriving at the centre. An incident report documents the situation. People were shouting and said they wouldn't leave.

The Department of Equality and Integration were notified of a serious incident.

The FOI request also revealed that Finglas residents wrote to Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O'Gorman regarding the asylum-seekers at Fun Galaxy.

One asked why he had placed “220 unvetted refugees” in Finglas without consulting the community.

Emails exchanged between department staff said protesters were “very aggressive” and had even smashed windows.

As a result the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth prepared for a briefing with local politicians and said a list of new accommodation centres was prepared.

It added the department would “now need to consider any further transfers which may exacerbate the situation in the short-term”.

It was then decided the day after the incident to cancel plans to move another 30 people into the emergency accommodation centre.

A spokesperson for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth told the Irish Mirror: "Following a number of incidents directed at the North Road Accommodation Centre in August, and in the interests of the welfare and safety of those residing there, residents were temporarily relocated to alternative accommodation at the Citywest transit hub. IPAS paused use of the facility to allow for closer consultation with the local community and local representatives."

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