LONDON: Three police officers were injured and one man was arrested on Friday in the latest anti-immigration protests at a site earmarked for housing asylum seekers in Dublin, authorities said.

It was the latest in a series of clashes at the site in a deprived northern suburb of the Irish capital over the past week. Police said a planned public gathering at the site on Friday initially “passed off peacefully” before turning into an “incident of public disorder”.

A fire broke out at the building site, with police subjected to “both verbal and physical abuse including rocks, concrete bricks and other objects being thrown at them”, they said in a statement.

The Garda — Ireland’s national police force — said officers used pepper spray and batons to “defend themselves”.

“Three members of An Garda Siochana have been injured. One member has been transferred to hospital tonight for treatment of their facial injuries,” the statement read.

One man in his 20s was arrested, accused of public order offences. The unrest came just days after violence broke out at the site for the planned accommodation in a former paint factory in the Coolock area. It is intended to house around 500 asylum seekers.

On Monday, at least 21 people were arrested after police cars were attacked and machinery set on fire. Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called Monday’s violence “reprehensible” and “criminal”.

The latest violence comes amid rising far-right sentiment as the government struggles to respond to a surge in asylum-seeker arrivals and a wider housing shortage.

Last November, central Dublin was engulfed by riots after far-right social media accounts incited protests following a knife attack on schoolchildren by an Irish citizen from an immigrant background.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2024