CLAIMS SHARED ON social media have alleged that the Government has tried to move asylum seekers into the former Crown Paints factory in Coolock, but was blocked by a coach company that refused to bus them in.

Different versions of the claim were shared on Facebook and X on 17 July, two days after unrest fueled by anti-immigrant groups broke out near the factory in north Dublin.

One post on Facebook said that private bus company Nolan Coaches “refused to bring 150 men into Coolock” and that locals should be aware the Government is “trying to get them in” to the former factory.

Other posts on X make similar claims, including one by an account called “Coolock Says No” which features a video of a man claiming that he spoke to Nolan Coaches on the phone and was told the company refused to bus people into the Crown Paints site.

The claims follow months of anti-immigration protests at the site and the arrest of more than 20 people following two days of disturbances in Coolock in recent days.

A camp had been maintained in front of the old Crown Paints factory since March by people who were against the site being used to accommodate International Protection applicants.

The Department of Integration has said the site would be used to house up to 500 people on a phased basis, and that protests at the entrance to the site have delayed work beginning for several months.

The blockade at the site was dismantled earlier this week, prompting violent scenes near the former factory on Monday and widespread misinformation about what has happened there.

The latest claims about Nolan Coaches refusing to bus people to the site is, however, untrue and was denied by the company when a spokesperson was contacted by The Journal.

“We haven’t been approached by any department to move refugees or asylum seekers anywhere, and we have not informed anyone about refugees or asylum seekers being moved,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “This is completely false.”

Earlier this week, the Department of Integration also said it was not yet in a position to move asylum seekers into the site.

In response to claims that the encampment had been dismantled on Monday to facilitate the arrival of people seeking asylum, a spokesperson for the department said it would be weeks before this could happen.

“No International Protection applicants were due to be accommodated today as the work is anticipated to take several weeks,” a statement on Monday read.

“Protests at the entrance to this site have delayed work beginning on this site for several months.”

There is no basis to claims that the Government is seeking to stealthily move asylum seekers into the site this week, or that Nolan Coaches has refused to facilitate this.

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