It is understood that Wednesday afternoon, structures from a section of the canal at Portobello were taken down.

A "section of temporary fencing" was removed, as verified by Waterways Ireland in a statement that described the removal "as a further step to fully reopen the canal amenity".

This month, the organisation started patrolling the canal around-the-clock "to deter erection of illegal encampments".

Waterways Ireland stated on September 10 that the action was a part of a trial program to fully reopen the canal facility.

At the time, Waterways Ireland announced that it had "introduced enhanced monitoring of the area, whereby two security personnel will augment Waterways Ireland staff by patrolling the area on a 24-hour basis.”

The all-Ireland group stated that the measure was put in place to survey the canal and its bank, keep an eye on sanitary and cleanup needs, detect public health risks, and discourage criminal damage to Waterways Ireland property and fence.