Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien has said he is "very disturbed" by the anti-refugee protests which took place in Ballymun in Dublin over the weekend.
The protests took place over the housing of refugees at a hotel in Ballymun.
Mr O'Brien said that having seen some of the videos of the protests he feels that while "people have a right to protest ... they don't have a right to intimidate people".
"We've been a welcoming country, rightly so. We know from our own history what it's like to have to leave our own shores, due to oppression, due to war, due to famine.
"The vast majority of people living here support our efforts to look after people from Ukraine and people form other countries who are fleeing persecution. So it concerns me to see that," said Mr O'Brien.
"If people have a differing viewpoint, they are entitled to that, but they're not entitled to intimidate people," he said.
Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien has said he is "very disturbed" by the anti-refugee protests which took place in Ballymun in Dublin over the weekend | https://t.co/bAEbADnx6w pic.twitter.com/2munR6g0jf
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 9, 2023
The Lord Mayor of Dublin Caroline Conroy described the protests as "embarrassing" and insisted that they are not representative of the views of many people and organisations in the area.
Ms Conroy said that while there were some locals involved, a lot of those involved were "far-right protesters" who travelled from elsewhere to participate.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Ms Conroy, who is from Ballymun, said: "It's really embarrassing. It's upsetting. It's not what we're about in Ballymun".
She said community groups have contacted her and are "really upset and distraught about the scenes that they've seen taking place over the weekend".
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Former Dublin footballer Philly McMahon, who is from the area, also contacted her to express his concern, she added.
"It's certainly a minority who are out there protesting against vulnerable people who have nowhere to go and we've always been open to welcome people when they come to Ballymun.
"What's really shocking and upsetting is that so much work has gone into Ballymun and showing what we do in a positive light and then this one weekend seems to destroy all of that hard work that's been done over the years," added Ms Conroy.
