Government considered 'creation of refugee camps' to manage surge in number of migrants

Asylum seekers' tents by the canal at Mount Street Bridge, near the International Protection Office in Dublin last month. Picture: Paul Sherwood

The department in charge of accommodating asylum seekers was in negotiations over “the creation of a refugee camp” to manage a surge in migration but said the “political optics” of it would be poor.

In discussions over its budget, the Department of Children and Equality said every negotiation with property owners about accommodation was leading to “higher cost and lower quality".