Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman has said the fire at a Galway hotel due to house asylum-seekers "was deeply sinister".
The Ross Lake House hotel in Rosscahill, which has not been in use for a number of years, was due to accommodate 70 asylum seekers this week.
Protesters had gathered to form a blockade at the entrance of the hotel at the weekend in opposition to Government plans to house the asylum seekers on the premises from Thursday.
A fire broke out at the hotel on Saturday night and gardaí began an investigation into what they have described as a criminal damage incident.
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Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr O'Gorman said the fire was designed to intimidate people seeking international protection.
"What we saw take place in Galway was deeply sinister and I believe it was a criminal act.
"It was dangerous and it's resulted in severe damage to private property, but I also think it was designed to intimidate people seeking action, international protection here in Ireland.
"I think people who use the international protection process have a right to be safely accommodated while their application is being adjudicated on," said Mr O'Gorman.
He said that already Ireland is not able to offer accommodation to everybody.
"We have about 200 people who are unaccommodated right now and being able to use this hotel would have enabled us to provide a substantial body of that people with international protection," he said.
Ross Lake House, which is currently under private ownership, had been offered a one-year contract to house international protection applicants.
The fire broke out at around 11.35pm on Saturday, before being brought under control by fire services. Nobody was inside the building at the time of the fire.
Gardaí preserved the scene at the hotel for a technical examination.
The Minister for Justice described the incident as "absolutely disgraceful", with a "really sinister side" to it.
Helen McEntee said gardaí are investigating the incident and urged anyone with relevant information to come forward.
She said she did not agree with the sentiment that Ireland is full, but said there was "significant pressure" in terms of accommodation.
The minister added that she was personally shocked and saddened when she heard about the incident.
Yesterday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar condemned the fire and said "there is no justification for violence, arson or vandalism in our Republic. Ever".
The CEO of the Irish Refugee Council said that what occurred at the hotel is of "huge concern" to the IRC and it is having an effect on people seeking international protection or who are refugees here.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Nick Henderson said: "Our thoughts last night and yesterday were with people in the system, looking at the news and seeing a building where they very well may be accommodated or people they know could be accommodated and seeing it in flamed."
Mr Henderson said he thinks the Government has a "communications problem" and that giving a community notice of 24 hours is far from ideal.
However, he said, the absence of strong communications policy at a national level and at a local level does not give any excuse or justification for a possible attack.
People blockading hotel in Galway 'were locals' - Cllr
Before the fire broke out on Saturday, the area was blockaded by locals. Among them was Fianna Fáil councillor Noel Thomas.
Mr Thomas said that nobody in their right mind would condone an action like the fire.
He said the blockade was manned by local people.
"I can tell you 100%, everybody that was there [for the protest], were people from the locality.
"These are people I grew up with... so there was no concern of at all about any other extremists being involved in this or anything else," he said.
He said they had no intention of doing anything to anyone who was going to try and access the hotel.
"A blockade is just a peaceful protest that prohibits people from passing," he said.
Mr Thomas said people are "disgusted" about what happened to the hotel and "nobody condones what has happened there".
He said locals had mounted the blockage over concerns over the possibility of 70 male migrants being brought to stay in the hotel because it is located in a very remote area.
"If you're going to move 70 young males into a remote area like that it is going to instill a certain amount of fear into the local people," he said.
Asked what people in the area are afraid of, Mr Thomas said people are afraid that there may be some sort of anti-social behaviour coming from a group of young men who are being isolated in an area like that.
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Ireland 'would not function' without migrants - TD
Government Chief Whip and Galway West TD Hildegarde Naughton said the attack at the hotel is "deeply shocking and disturbing".
Also speaking on Morning Ireland, Ms Naughton said that she understands that people have concerns, but they should not feed into "the playbook of the far right".
"I understand that people have concerns with immigration. That's one thing, but as elected representatives and community leaders, we need to be engaging with people and I think not playing into the playbook of the far right in relation to mistruths and lies that have been spread and we've seen examples of that across the country over the last few months."
Mr Thomas said people want to see a stronger policy on immigration in Ireland and he said that he thinks Ireland should not accept any more asylum seekers.
"We shouldn't, because the inn is full," he said.
However Ms Naughton said that the country "would not function" without migrants coming to live and work here.
"I hear the concerns of people around people coming into the country, but we have to also put into perspective what migrants have done for this country and are doing.
"This country wouldn't function - if you go into our hospitals in Galway, in UHG, the number of nurses, doctors, care workers who were born outside Ireland, who are listening to this this morning, getting up to work, bringing their children to school, listening to this narrative, I think this instills fear for many migrants."
Galway West Independent TD Catherine Connolly said she was "utterly shocked" by the fire.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, she said: "There has to be two parallel conversations, one is without hesitation, what's happened - the burning of a hotel in this manner - is simply appalling and unacceptable.
"And then the narrative around 70 young males in simply unacceptable. They are linking young men with violence and saying that people are afraid in the area when there is absolutely no evidence of that."
