Since Friday, 1,103 were “awaiting offer of accommodation”, said IPAS (International Protection Accommodation Service). Since then, nearly 100 men, some as young as 18 years old, have been sleeping in pitched tents on pavements around the headquarters in recent weeks, without toilets, running water, or rubbish collection.

IPAS released a statement saying it can only offer beds to the most vulnerable male asylum seekers due to struggles with sourcing accommodation. Those 100 men have been sleeping in tents nearby to the International Protection Office (IPO) on Mount Street in Dublin 2.

This was the result of attention on social media that got the Department of Integration to announce that they would provide temporary emergency accommodation "due to the current extreme weather"

Yet, a Department representative stated that "these arrangements are emergency in nature and will end today (Sunday)."

The Dept of Integration confirmed that accommodation arrangements for rough sleeping recently arrived International Protection applicants would end on Sunday. @RTEnews understands the last of those accommodated are being returned to the Mount St area this morning. pic.twitter.com/ZHrhn51Wfx

— Laura Fletcher (@fletchl) March 4, 2024

On Saturday morning, around 20 of these people were sent back to their tents after being told to leave their accommodation. They reported being taken to an area near Dublin Airport with sleeping bags but no mattresses.

They had been taken from IPO on Friday to accommodation in Citywest near the airport.  Men were taken to Dundrum, and the rest moved in taxis towards the airport area.

During the commute, more men arrived with bags. Some said they had been sheltering from the weather all day, while the others had been sleeping in tents elsewhere. With so many men desperate for a place to sleep and keep warm, the list had to be kept short, and a list was created and emailed to the IPO to verify their identities.

By 10pm all but a handful of the men had been taken to accommodation for the weekend. Some men chose to stay, in fear that something might happen to their tents while they were vacant.

'Dept. confirms IPA emergency accommodation arrangements to end'

We spoke to @morningireland

▪️ Appalling people are back on street
▪️ Deep concern for homeless children
▪️ Huge consequence of negative age assessment = risk that a child is made homelesshttps://t.co/TvdJpMcOb7

— Irish Refugee Council (@IrishRefugeeCo) March 4, 2024

On RTÉ's Morning Ireland, CEO of the Irish Refugee Council, Nick Henderson, requests the "department to continue to accommodate people who were taken off the streets on Friday evening."

Despite Henderson acknowledging that the department “has to retain some accommodation for flex and capacity and surge”, he concluded that the situation is a “crisis” at this point.

He also criticised the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, which provides emergency accommodation for homeless people. They held their stance that anyone hoping to be remitted for accommodation wasn't a concern to them, but rather a concern of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth.

Mr Henderson responded by saying: “Saying they have no responsibility at all for these homeless people, it’s gone beyond the point of it being OK to say that. This is a humanitarian crisis unfolding on the streets of the capital.”