Homes not Fences at the Grand Canal

Since May Waterways Ireland has erected steel fences all along the Grand Canal. Waterways Ireland's antisocial management of our canals, and the government's inhumane treatment of Dublin's homeless and homeless asylum seekers must be opposed. The erection of steel fencing along the Grand Canal this year is an escalation in a long-term policy of Waterways Ireland to prioritise anti-homeless action and infrastructure over their role in restoring, developing, and pinoting Ireland's waterways.

These fences are more than physical barriers; they represent the deliberate exclusion of certain groups from public spaces and, by extension, from society. This exclusion is part of a broader pattern within our economic and political system that prioritises the interests of capital over those of ordinary citizens. The current actions of Waterways Ireland, including the erection of these barriers, disproportionately affect vulnerable groups such as asylum seekers, the homeless population, and working-class people.

Public spaces are meant to be inclusive areas that foster community and provide safe havens for all, However, the recent actions by Waterways Ireland have turned these spaces into sites of exclusion and hostility. The fences have an estimated cost of €30,000 a week and its maintenance assumed to continue up to October could cost as much as €390,000. This money could be better spent addressing the housing crisis by providing real solutions and support for those in need.

These barriers are tools of division and exclusion. They are being used to weaponize the immigration issue in Ireland, particularly to divide working-class communities that are already suffering from the deliberate degradation of social services, including public housing, healthcare, and education. Instead of listening to our calls for a humane and constructive solution to this disgraceful situation Waterways Ireland has instead referred to it as not ideal' and has called for 'restraint’. They have refused to engage in dialogue while simultaneously claiming a commitment to “actively involving communities in the stewardship of these vital resources”. The lack of communication, transparency and accountability can go on no longer. We as residents are speaking up. 

We demand