Garda seeks names of people staying in some of papal visit area

Residents of a central Dublin street have been asked to carry photo ID and provide the names of all those who will be at their address on Saturday to gardaí ahead of the papal visit.

Pope Francis will pass through Church Street as part of his two-day trip to Ireland and is to visit the Capuchin Day Centre for homeless people, which is located on nearby Bow Street.

Church Street residents have received a flier informing them they need to provide gardaí with the names of all those expected to be at their address on Saturday.

A Garda spokesman said the notices “were issued to establish how many residents/family members will be in the area”. He said the fliers were necessary as there will be “limited space available” on the street during the visit.

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“In order to manage and ensure the safety of all concerned, access to this specific location will be curtailed,” the spokesman said.

Household capacity

The fliers ask anyone who wishes to see the pope in the area to provide their details to gardaí and states there is a “maximum capacity of four per household”. It asks residents to give a “clear indication of who will be at your address. All persons must carry photo ID. Wristbands will be issued to those on our list.”

“Ongoing liaising is taking place between An Garda Síochána, local residents and businesses,” the spokesman said.

A meeting with residents was planned for Monday evening in relation to the papal visit. A spokesman for privacy group Digital Rights Ireland criticised the request for people to carry photo ID to access the area. "The simple thing would be to give residents leaving the area on the morning a permit to allow them to return later on. If a guest arrives, a garda can ask the resident to liaise with them to allow the person through the cordon," he said.

Homeless meals

Separately, a group that provides food, drinks, sleeping bags and toiletries to homeless people and rough sleepers in the city centre has been told it will not be permitted to set up its stall on Saturday. Friends Helping Friends runs a stand on Westmoreland Street on Tuesday and Saturday evenings.

Glenda Harrington, who runs the service, said the group had been informed it would not be permitted to set up their stand this Saturday. She estimates that it feeds more than 300 homeless people a night.

Westmoreland Street will be closed until 5pm for the papal visit, but Ms Harrington said gardaí informed her that due to “security concerns” it would not be able to run their service this weekend.

“What is happening here is we are taking the only hot meal some of these people get that day away from them,” she said.