Migrants hope for heat welcome as they land on Ireland’s shores

As Britain vows to do everything in its power to ‘stop the boats’, Europe’s migrant crisis has crash-landed on the doorstep of its neighbour.

With the threat of Rwanda looming over asylum seekers who reach the UK, Ireland is facing an unprecedented ‘explosion’ in migration which has left a country divided.

The epicentre of the crisis lies in Ireland’s capital, Dublin, where ‘tent cities’ have sprung up across the city due to a lack of available accommodation.

The contrast in Dublin is stark. As friends and families soaked up the sunshine along the tranquil Grand Canal on Friday, migrants were being quizzed by police in their tents on the footpath – and ugly metal fences were being erected to block others from joining.

For months tension has been mounting between locals and asylum seekers – with those on the right declaring ‘Ireland is full’ against a backdrop of a housing shortage crisis, high taxes and a failing healthcare system.

But they are united on the fact that Ireland’s own history of immigration is contributing to the influx of migrants.

‘I chose Ireland because they have a history of immigration, the Irish know how we feel’ Shire, a 36-year-old asylum seeker who fled Somalia for Dublin in February told MailOnline at Dublin’s International Protection Office.

‘They emigrated from one country to another because of hardships. That’s why I prefer Ireland and the Irish people will understand how we feel. I hope the Irish people will welcome us because they have been through this situation.’

Jamal Naser Ah-Madi, an Afghan who travelled to Dublin via France, England and Northern Ireland, agreed and said Ireland had ‘good people’, adding: ‘I will have a better life here. I want to save my life and my family’s life.’ He said he would not risk going back to the UK because ‘Rwanda is not safe’. 

While many locals claim to be content with migrants flocking to Ireland, there is an overwhelming feeling that the country is at boiling point and it is ‘only a matter of time’ before something bad happens.

It comes amid a backdrop of thousands of people fleeing the UK’s toughed up immigration policies by re-entering the EU through Ireland – a ‘loophole’ which Irish premier Simon Harris pledged he would not let his country fall victim to.

Anne Hosback, from Cooloch, told MailOnline: ‘All of a sudden it’s exploded, the amount of people coming in. The unfortunate thing is we haven’t got the accommodation. People here that are homeless are resentful because they see them getting all the benefits.’

As the Irish government crackdown on Dublin’s ‘shanty towns’ by dismantling them using diggers, people living in them are being driven out to the mountains to live in tents behind 10ft metal gates and 24-hour security where nobody can see them.

Ministers were told last month that the government will spend €5billion on accommodating them in State-owned properties in the coming decades.

Based on recent figures, it is expected that between 13,000 and 16,000 people will arrive in Ireland each year. There have been 7,928 asylum applications between January and May 9 alone in Ireland.

Ireland has blamed Britain’s Rwanda policy for a recent influx to Dublin from Northern Ireland.

But as a diplomatic row continues in the background, there is something bigger simmering.

Software engineer Derek Cahill, 32, who was walking past the Grand Canal tents after work, told MailOnline: ‘There is tension and it’s definitely getting worse. There’s a lot of hate out there at the moment and it seems like it’s only a matter of time before something happens.’

Sean O’Reilly, 46, from Arran Quay, said: ‘The government are looking after migrants and not caring about the Irish.’

In recent months, right-wing activists have staged demonstrations declaring ‘Ireland is full’, while police are investigating a series of arson attacks at sites earmarked for refugee camps as the migrant crisis reaches boiling point.

But amid the threat of violence, others are more sympathetic to the desperate situation, reflecting on Ireland’s own immigration history.

Ultan Doyle, 47, a project manager from the south of Dublin, said: ‘As a country we have been growing for years, eventually we were going to reach a point where accommodation, healthcare and education is at breaking point.

‘Historically the English and rest of the world treated us appallingly, migrants will always be welcome here’

Peter O’Donnell, 27, agreed, saying: ‘Irish people have benefited throughout the years from emigration. I think if people don’t see that, they are probably blind and not fully in tune with our history. Previously in America, Irish people, there were all those signs saying ‘no Irish, no Jewish people’, obviously there was bigotry here.

‘Sadly, I think there always will be a level of bigotry. But I can see the other side of the coin, does a nation have an obligation to care for its own citizens before other people coming into the country? I think we are coming to a tipping point, where we simply cannot house or accommodate people that are coming.’

But there is anger that in Dublin that their hard-earned taxes are being spent on immigration with no obvious benefit to the local community.

There is fury that taxpayers’ money is being spent on providing tents for migrants rather than their own people.

Bus driver Patrick Kelly, 65, from County Athlone, said: ‘The taxpayers’ money should be used for upgrading the hospital and putting in more beds because people are genuinely stuck on corridors.

‘Look on Ireland on a map, we’re only a small country. We are expected to give them anything and everything. They are all coming over from Europe and getting benefits.’

Other locals hit out at asylum seekers for failing to contribute to society.

Electrician Adam Harvey, 32, complained that Ireland has become ‘become a dumping ground’ and that Europe’s migrant crisis has landed on their doorstep.

‘It’s worrying,’ he said. ‘It’s tense, I just don’t see what the solution is. We barely have the right infrastructure for our own, never mind bus loads of people coming in.’

Irish homeless charities have said 13,866 people are accessing emergency accommodation in Ireland.

The IPO has become a focal point for Dublin’s migrant crisis, with hundreds of asylum seekers surrounding the building in tents before they were cleared on May 1.

Just days later, another encampment was set up around the corner along the picturesque Grand Canal.

It appears many do not want to be sent to the Crooksling campsite and Citywest hotel, which are long journeys from Dublin and more importantly the IPO which they want to be close to in order to get documents.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee claimed that 80 per cent of recent asylum seekers coming into the country had come from Northern Ireland, with migrants taking advantage of the lack of checkpoints on the border. This measure was kept following Brexit amid fears a visible border could put the peace process at risk.

For many in Ireland though, peace is the opposite of what is happening right now.

Karl Hill said: ‘It’s well documented there is a rise in far-right movement and far-right political parties. I find that unfortunate but it is something happening. There will be certain sections of society that would be growing into that tension with asylum seekers.

‘It does not fill me with pride as an Irish citizen because it’s something we have been predominantly well against if you look back over a number of decades but it is rising and it is concerning. Recent violence in the city centre is fuelled by the far-right and it’s followers.’

By Friday morning in Dublin, another 30 tents had sprung up on the Grand Canal – just 24 hours after being cleared and fenced off.

The evening before, refugees who attempted to set up new encampments in areas of Dublin were run out by locals.

When MailOnline visited the canal, migrants were being quizzed at their tents by police as mothers pushed their children along in buggies and revellers tucked into ice creams and soaked up the sunshine.

It remains to be seen how long the fencing will stay up but Mr Harris has vowed that migrants will no longer be allowed to pitch up ‘tent cities’ like they have on Mount Street and the Grand Canal.

He said: ‘Those days are gone, those days are over. That’s not going to happen and the Government are absolutely united in relation to this.’