Dublin Bus is planning “enhanced services” along its number 65 route, which stops outside the Crooksling tented accommodation site for asylum seekers, following complaints about capacity on the south Dublin route.
The transport provider has received 18 complaints since July 15th when it was reported the local bus had been failing to stop outside the Crooksling camp. The Irish Times witnessed more than 40 men walking single file down the N81, which has an 80km/h speed limit, after the bus reportedly failed to pick the men up.
A Dublin Bus spokeswoman has confirmed 18 complaints were received “in relation to capacity issues” in late July and that “enhanced services” will come into effect “from end of August into early September, when resources become available”.
In one letter of complaint, a Blessington resident and bus user wrote that on “multiple occasions the No 65 Dublin Bus has passed by International Protection applicants accommodated at Crooksling” or only accepted a portion of the men “as the bus was too full”.
“This is unacceptable and it is a frequent occurrence,” the person wrote, adding that those on the bus are “frequently forced to stand” on the return journey from the city centre “at levels above the safe capacity for standing”.
They warned the lack of capacity would “only lead to unnecessary tensions in the near future”.
A separate letter sent to Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman said some men being accommodated at Crooksling were “walking along this dangerous stretch of the N81 – which has no pedestrian walking area – to earlier bus stops in a bid to get a space on the bus in the direction of Dublin centre.
“It is only a matter of time before there is a serious or deadly crash along this stretch of the N81.”
A spokesman for the Department of Integration acknowledged there had been reports of capacity issues, but said men in Crooksling “have access to a regular Dublin bus service to the city centre” and could access additional transport “on request”.
A meeting was held between the department’s community engagement team and representatives of Dublin Bus and the National Transport Authority last week, with a further meeting planned, to “identify solutions” for capacity along the route, he said.
Asked to comment on reports of poor conditions in the camp, including no heating or electricity in tents, the spokesman said International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) representatives visit the centre “on a regular basis to speak with residents and discuss improvements where needed”. HSE staff also frequently visit the site, he said.
The tents as Crooksling have a total capacity of 540 people, but department officials did not confirm how many men are on the site at present. Each tent houses between 10 and 12 men.
One resident reported on Sunday that the migrants “are still without electricity” and water is dripping into their tents.
The department said portable heaters were available and that electricity faculties are provided in the “indoor sections of the site”. Renovation work, which would see the men moved from tents into permanent buildings, is “ongoing” but a completion date is “not currently available”, said the spokesman.
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