In two cases, inspectors found that staff were using restraint to try to manage children’s behaviour, and one of those children was restrained 78 times.
One man who’s been involved has been trying to organise a social event on a nearby council football pitch, something the council says it’s “monitoring”.
“Every child I have been with on admission to emergency placements, whether it is foster care or residential, has told me they are scared,” says Claire Brogan, a practice manager with Barnardos.
“I don’t want my story or the way my headline was written and the backlash it got to be a prime example for immigrants to not tell their stories,” says Sumyrah Khan.
Crumlin Boxing Club is run by Philip Sutcliffe Snr, McGregor’s boxing coach, a Dublin city councillor who – like McGregor – has voiced anti-immigrant views.
A spokesperson for the Dublin Region Homeless Executive said its priority was “to ensure there is an adequate provision of accommodation for people experiencing homelessness”.
