Residents in an area where asylum seekers have pitched tents are calling on the Taoiseach to follow through on his commitment not to allow "shanty towns" to develop in Dublin city.
Chairperson of the South Georgian Core Residents Association Kevin Byrne said people living in the area were "grateful for the operation on Wednesday" where a large number of tents were removed from around the International Protection Office (IPO).
Barriers were erected on the footpaths along Mount Street and around the IPO to prevent more tents being set up.
However, more than 40 tents have been pitched by asylum seekers between Mount Street Bridge and Huband Bridge along the Grand Canal, less than 400 metres from the IPO on Mount Street.
Mr Byrne said there was "a political commitment given by the Taoiseach that no other shanty towns will be allowed to emerge in the city".
"But yet, what we have here today is evidence of a very large encampment that's emerged only a few days after that operation," he said.
Mr Byrne said residents are "looking for that commitment to be followed through on and encampments not allowed to be established in the city centre".
"We're just seeing a return to the problem we've had before," he added.
Mr Byrne said the residents "have an awful lot of sympathy for the people in the position they find themselves in these tents, struggling to find places to stay as the state struggles to accommodate them".
However, he said "wraparound services and support can't be provided in locations like this" and that "the IPO being on Mount Street and trying to operate there is a big part of that problem".
Asked if residents have concerns that the number of tents will grow in the coming days, Mr Byrne said: "We know from the experience over the last 14 months that that's exactly what will happen."
"If tents are allowed to assemble in scale, more tents will follow and it will be very likely that this will grow very, very fast. That's what we've seen before and there is no reason to think that won’t happen again," he said.
'Most people are good'
Meanwhile, one of the international protection applicants, who slept in a tent along the Grand Canal last night, said he has been living in tents for six months.
The man, who is originally from Morocco, said he has registered with the International Protection Office but has not been offered accommodation.
He said the last six months "living outside" has been "very hard" for him.
The man said "most people are good, giving food and water" but he has also experienced racism and someone previously cut his tent with a knife.
"Everyday people are sleeping outside, every day more people come," he added.
"I am tired, very, very tired."
The man said he is planning to sleep in a tent along the canal again tonight because he has no other accommodation.
Another asylum seeker, who is from Afghanistan, said he currently has no accommodation.
He said he came to the canal last night and pitched his tent after arriving in Ireland yesterday.
He said he cannot sleep because it is cold and people are always walking by the tent but added he will "stay here because we don't have any space".
