Hundreds of protesters gathered in East Wall, Dublin to protest at the housing of a number of asylum seekers in the old ESB building in the area.
A group of between 200 and 300 people, many local residents, stopped traffic on the road during the protest.
They said they were angry at the accommodation of male-only asylum seekers there and that they had not been consulted.
The protest began to break up at around 3.30pm with a small group remaining near the entrance to the building, which has been cordoned off with barriers.
Gardaí were in attendance.
As the protest was taking place, four men carrying plastic bags and luggage arrived at the building and went inside, with a small number of the protesters shouting at them.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability and Youth has been contacted for comment.
Independent Councillor for Dublin North Inner City Nial Ring, who attended the protest, said the lack of consultation with the local community had caused a lot of anger.
He said he believed the asylum seekers being moved to the accommodation were not recent arrivals to Ireland and that they had been moved to Dublin from other parts of the country.
He said he believed a lot of people living in the area would open their hearts to those fleeing war and he hoped that someone in the Government would have the courtesy to inform residents about who is moving to their area.
He said Government policy in this area was causing a lot of disquiet.
Dublin City Councillor for the Green Party Janet Horner said the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth had briefed local representatives on what was happening at the former ESB site.
The Department is expected to circulate an information leaflet to all residents in the area over the next week.
In its briefing, the Department said the former ESB office building on East Wall Road has been converted into an accommodation centre in response to the extraordinary pressure being put on Ireland’s international protection system and a lack of available accommodation for international protection applicants.
The Department says that current projections indicate a shortfall of 15,000 beds for asylum seekers by December and it expects that the number of Ukrainians and International Protection applicants arriving is expected to remain at elevated levels.
Cllr Horner, who also represents the North-Inner city, said, whilst some men have been among the the first to arrive at the Two Gateway Building in the area, that families will follow in due course.
She said some of the families who would move to the site were not new to the area and had already been accommodated in nearby hotels.
The building has the capacity to house 380 people who are International Protection applicants and 80 “singles” have been among the first to arrive.
Accommodation is spread over five floors, with families set to be accommodated on different floors from single men and women. Access to the floors will be controlled.
Residents staying in the accommodation are to be provided with three meals per day, with each person receiving towels, toiletries and linen that will be changed twice a week.
According to the briefing, Gateway Integration Ltd will operate the site under a contract for the next 12 months.
There will be round-the-clock security, with a duty manager and a senior manager on call.
The Department says emergency centres have been opened across Ireland, with in excess of 40 accommodation locations used since January, across 13 counties.
It says that in Dublin, similar sites have been, or are currently in operation in Dublin 6, Dublin 11, Dublin 14, Dublin 22, and South County Dublin.
https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2022/1119/1337137-east-wall-protest/