A man who lived in a homeless camp in Ashtown said the latest attack was just one in a series of disturbing events in the west Dublin area.
The man, who came from Poland in 2006, became homeless after he was evicted from his home in Dublin 3 late last year. Speaking at the anti-racism rally in Ashtown on Monday night, he said: "I'm the one who lived the shortest time [at the camp], two months. The boys lived there seven-and-a-half months.
"We didn’t want to stay in city centre where it’s a violent area, want to stay away from drugs, we felt hostels not friendly environment." He said that there were six people living in the camp including one from Croatia, one from Hungary, one from Portugal, one student from India, and two Polish people, RTE's Prime Time reports.
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The man said he liked living outdoors but he has been sleeping in a hostel since the attack on Saturday. He added that the incident on Saturday afternoon that saw a group of men attack the camp with sticks and dogs was just the latest in a series of events in recent weeks.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said this week that the incident had the "feel and look of a racist attack". He said: "Obviously, I’ve heard the reports in the media. I don’t have the report from the Gardaí yet but I am going to seek one.
"I am always reluctant to comment on something without knowing the full facts but it has the feel and look of, essentially, a racist attack. These are people who are foreigners. People who were sleeping rough. I think it requires a full investigation by the Gardaí and it is something that I am going to pursue with them."
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