17 July 2024

In July 2024, Phibsboro For All supported a group of homeless international protection applicants who sought refuge in the community. We wrote a letter to elected representatives to advocate for the provision of safe, suitable and dignified accommodation. Read our letter below.

To whom it may concern, 

Phibsboro For All is a local community group, created in 2023 to promote a culture of hospitality and inclusion in the area. We have been supporting a group of international protection applicants who recently sought shelter in Phibsboro and who have experienced anti-immigrant and racist abuse and attacks during their homelessness. 

We are deeply concerned about unaccommodated international protection applicants forced first to reside in tents and who have been displaced from location to location across the city. As of 17 July, Phibsboro For All in conjunction with Community Action Tenants Union (CATU), the IPO Support Group and others supported a group of applicants displaced to Phibsboro. The men arrived in an exhausted and apprehensive state due to their continued displacement and having to face, at times, violent anti-immigrant sentiment since their arrival to Ireland. This morning, following the clearing of the camp by An Garda Síochána yesterday evening, the group faced a violent attack in their new location which saw their personal belongings and important documents being thrown into the River Liffey. Only the provision of suitable and dignified accommodation, will prevent a recurrence of such horrific events. 

We found these men to be kind, generous and very peaceful. Some of them told us that they felt safe in Phibsboro and appreciated the support provided by the local community in opening their homes to access bathroom facilities and in offering camaraderie during these tough times. This support was well coordinated by the local community, in particular locally known residents including retired women and men who played an important role in de-escalating the threatening behaviour displayed towards the group and acted as a stable and reassuring presence. 

We are disappointed that a sustainable solution has not yet been found for this group and are gravely concerned that further displacement throughout the city will lead to further attacks, particularly following other recent violent events in Coolock. 

The State has legal obligations to provide for the basic needs of international protection applicants, including the provision of shelter, food and access to basic hygiene facilities. In December 2023, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission sought a High Court declaration that the State’s failure to provide for the basic needs of international protection applicants is in breach of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Irish Constitution. The case is currently pending before the High Court. 

Political will and a truly all-of-government effort are needed to address the joint crises of homelessness among international protection applicants and in housing more generally. We appeal to the Government to do all it can to act with urgency on this issue and to prevent the normalisation of homelessness and disregard for legal obligations. 

We call on government to:

• Provide applicants who are homeless with safe,  secure and dignified accommodation and come up with an all-of-government response urgently. A need for oversight, cooperation and proper communication is critical.
• Give international protection applicants who are homeless the option of postponing their asylum interview. No one sleeping on the street should be forced to undergo an interview covering traumatic life events.
• Devise a communications plan to increase community understanding of international protection and our obligations to people seeking protection. Local representatives and communities can feel alienated when they do not receive adequate information and communication.

You can support us by:

• Sharing this letter with your locally elected representative and asking them to act upon it.
• As a locally elected representative, calling on your party and the government to act urgently on this issue.
• As a member of Dáil Eireann or Seanad Eireann, raising this issue within the Houses of the Oireachtas as a matter of urgency to be addressed. 
• Donating to and supporting the work of Phibsboro For All and other groups such as the IPO support group and CATU who are working on the ground to support this group. 

Yours sincerely, 

Phibsboro for All