Camping in the centre of a roundabout in Dublin was much better than living in Romania, several Roma people said yesterday.
Grandfather Danila Rostas said he was "very happy" to be living in Ireland.
"I am coming for a good life," he said. " I am living in Romania in a place for collecting rubbish, a dump. I am eating in the dump. Here I am very happy where I live now."
He said he came here to work in agriculture. "This is a job for many Roma people. I want to stay here."
He said Roma people had ongoing problems with police at home and there were no opportunities to find work. "I am not finding a job in Romania.
"I no go back to Romania," he said.
The group are all part of the extended Rostas family from Tileagd, Bihor in the northwest of Romania.
Sara Russell, Pavee Point's Roma co-ordinator, said the group had been living in shanty conditions at the dump.
"When times were bad they had to go to the dump and eat from the dump, finding remnants of food in the dump."
While he was happy here, Mr Rostas said the group was worried at the rise in racist incidents in recent weeks.
He said that, about three or four times a week, from about 9pm to midnight, people threw eggs and stones at the camp and shouted at them. "I was hit with the egg in the face," he said.
Crosscare, the Dublin diocese social care agency, heard about the group from Pavee Point and started offering help last week. It has been providing washing facilities and food for the group in recent days.
"It's very obvious that if the Roma families feel where they are is better than where they were at home, then there's a huge issue in both Romania and Bulgaria that needs to be addressed, and across Europe," said Conor Hickey, Crosscare director.
He said its response was "very very limited" and could not be enough.
"So we are calling on those who are responsible and who have the responsibility to actually deliver," he said.
