Tánaiste Simon Harris has said former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern should reflect on comments he made on immigration.
Mr Ahern was criticised yesterday for remarks he made in a video which circulated on social media in recent days.
He was recorded in the video as saying, in a conversation, that "the ones I worry about are the Africans", that he has concerns about the level of immigration, and that Ireland "can't be taking in people" coming from "the Congo", as well as the next generation of Muslims in Ireland.
He goes on to say that Ireland should be accepting of people coming from Ukraine, however, following the war there.
It was filmed while Mr Ahern joined Fianna Fáil's Dublin Central Bye-Election candidate John Stephens while canvassing in the constituency.
Mr Ahern said yesterday that he has "no problem with people who come to Ireland through the visa and asylum systems".
Speaking to RTÉ News, he said that the video was recorded without his knowledge and added it was recorded "around nine or ten days ago".
He also said the footage circulating online was part of a longer conversation.
"I support Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan's policies on immigration, let there be no doubt about," Mr Ahern said.
"I have said in the past the asylum process should be quicker, but I do acknowledge it has speeded up a bit in recent times," he added.
"I have no problem with people who come here through the visa and asylum systems," he said, adding that many African people who had gone through the system successfully live and work in his locality.
Watch: 'We can't be taking in people from the Congo and all these places', says Bertie Ahern
Speaking in the Dáil during Leaders Questions, Simon Harris described the remarks as "not appropriate and wrong".
"There are people feeling very hurt today. We do need to facilitate ways of being able to discuss and debate migration in this country," he said.
"We all have different views... but that's different to making comments that seek to group people based on race, religion or ethnicity."
The Tánaiste said he was quite sure that Mr Ahern had unintentionally "caused significant hurt to a significant number of people who play a very fine contribution in our public services, in our society".
He stopped short of joining Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik in calling for Mr Ahern to apologise, but added: "It's up to individuals to decide what they want to do, but knowing Bertie Ahern, he wouldn't have intended that harm and therefore he should reflect on it further."
Ms Bacik labelled Mr Ahern's comments as "deeply disturbing" and said the language used was "dangerous and inflammatory".
She said that for a politician who had devoted so much of his career to building bridges, it was "shameful to hear him refer to a child's religion - Islam - when talking about the next generation of Muslims".
She said Mr Ahern was more than just a private citizen, given his role on the Council of State, and she twice called upon the Tánaiste to join her in calling for him to apologise.
Read more:
Bertie Ahern takes centre stage once more in Dublin Central
Fianna Fáil MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú has also called on Mr Ahern to consider issuing an apology.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Ní Mhurchú said his comments were "very unhelpful", adding that we "cannot be calling out a certain ethnicity, race or country".
She said the remarks do not represent the views of Fianna Fáil.
"This is not the Bertie Ahern I know and respect, and am so fond of. This is out of character," she said.
Ms Ní Mhurchú said apologies matter, particularly in the current climate, and she added that she disagreed that Mr Ahern's comments were just "blunt language".
She said that while she believes in freedom of expression, there is a need for nuanced, balanced and sensible conversations and discussion based on facts, and not to make people feel excluded.
"It's really important that we have sensible conversations around this topic, unfortunately, this (Bertie Ahern's comments) did not add to a sensible conversation."
Speaking on the same programme, former Lord Mayor of Dublin and Independent Councillor Nial Ring described the recording as "real gotcha politics at its lowest levels", adding that Mr Ahern does not need to apologise.
He said the former taoiseach was speaking bluntly and he has given context to his comments.
"If we start cancelling and looking for apologies based on the 10 second clip, taken out of context, nobody would be safe from the woke brigade in this case," he said.
"I mean, it's just really a storm in a teacup."
Mr Ring said the comment that Mr Ahern made about Congo was "probably ill-judged".
The chairperson of the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council yesterday described the remarks as "deeply disturbing".
Chief Imam of the Islamic Centre of Ireland Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri said they were "offensive to all immigrants".
Dr Al-Qadri said that "while it's important to discuss the challenges facing Ireland openly and honestly, we must avoid rhetoric that scapegoats entire communities.
"Such remarks reflect a worrying lack of understanding and I believe they risk undermining the values of respect and inclusion that Irish society stands for," he said.
Mr Ring said that he does not understand the concern that Dr Al-Qadri has about the comments.
"I don't understand his concern, but I would say one of the people, the best people in this country, and over the last 50 years for reaching out, to use that politically correct phrase, for reaching out to people would be Bertie Ahern," he said.
"I would say he would talk to that man and talk about the Muslims and talk about what's happening.
"I mean, you can't dismiss somebody who's delivered a peace process that's brought peace to a whole generation of people".
You can find a full list of the candidates in the Dublin Central bye-election here
