A couple has blamed the disruption caused by a nearby International Protection Office (IPO) for the closure of their Dublin city centre restaurant after 16 years.
A sign on the door of Ruth and Clint Hamilton’s Mamma Mia in Grattan Street states that the owners were on holidays from July 27th to August 31st, but it has not reopened since.
On Instagram, the couple posted that “unfortunately due to the ongoing IPAS and IPO situation” they had been unable to reopen.
“Our business can no longer be sustainable due to the lack of support and help from Dublin City Council and government bodies. It’s a sad day for us.”
A notice on the door of Mamma Mia restaurant, Grattan Street, Dublin. Photograph Nick Bradshaw 
Ruth Hamilton, owner of the Mamma Mia restaurant, is looking for answers on when the the fencing along Mount Street will be removed, one year on from the IPO crisis. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni/The Irish Times
Mamma Mia is located at the back of the IPO office in Mount Street where hundreds of tents were set up last year by asylum seekers who were not given accommodation by the State.
The tents were removed last year and barriers were put up around the IPO centre to stop other asylum seekers camping there. The barriers remain in place.
In May, on the first anniversary of the removal of the tents, Ms Hamilton warned their business was “on its knees” and the barriers were a deterrent to customers.
She told The Irish Times at the weekend that nothing has changed since May, that business is down 60 per cent and therefore they had no choice but to close Mamma Mia.
The Mamma Mia restaurant remains closed.
Ms Hamilton said she did not blame asylum seekers for the closure of the restaurant, but she believes that their applications should be processed at Dublin Airport rather than in the city centre.
“Customers were asking us if we were still open,” she said. “Once they get to the top of the road, they will not go down that road. A lot of our customers say they won’t visit us because of the situation on the street. The whole area is completely run down.
“It really damaged our reputation as a small family-run business.”
She said the closure is “100 per cent” as a result of the barriers and not because of rising costs that are affecting many other restaurant businesses.
Dublin City Council has been contacted for comment. Previously chief executive Richard Shakespeare said barricades are the most effective way of ensuring people do not sleep rough or set up camp on the footpaths.
He ruled out 24-hour security, saying that it was “not something that the city council would consider as it would set a precedent for various other areas of the city that experience similar issues.”