Taoiseach Simon Harris has condemned attacks on gardaí during a protest at a site earmarked to accommodate international protection applicants in Co Wicklow last night.
Speaking in Wicklow, Mr Harris said: "You don't protest in this country with an axe. You don't engage in protest that involves fire, that involves burning things, that involves thuggery and that involves assaulting members of An Garda Síochána or their vehicles."
"That is socially unacceptable and reprehensible behaviour in this country," Mr Harris said.
He said he wished to thank the gardaí for their work in enforcing the law.
"There are laws, the laws apply to all and the laws will be enforced," he added.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she does not think anyone looking at pictures from last night would disagree with the approach taken by gardaí.
Six people were arrested during the protest at Newtownmountkennedy yesterday.
Of them, three men and woman have been charged and are due before the district court today, another man was charged and released to appear before court at a later date.
A male juvenile was released without charge.
Speaking to Newstalk, Ms McEntee said people do not have a right to prevent someone from entering their property, from going to work, or from developing a site that they own.
She said gardaí know how to judge a situation and how to respond effectively.
"When you have gardaí doing their job, helping to clear a site so that somebody can get on to it then coming under attack, they have to respond," she said.
"In particular for this site they have cleared it a number of times, they have been there, they have managed it, but it did escalate last night to a situation where you had gardaí coming under fire, where you had gardaí being attacked, and six people were arrested.
"I don't think anybody looking at pictures from last night would disagree with the approach that the gardaí have taken," she said.
"You cannot have a situation where somebody cannot get on their site, where a person cannot go to work, where a person cannot cross a line because others decide that they're not going to let you."
"That's not the world that we live in. Law and order has to be upheld, the rules have to be upheld, our laws have to be upheld, and while people have a right to protest you cannot have gardaí coming under fire for the work that they do.
"I absolutely support gardaí in the work that they do," Ms McEntee said.
She said she "absolutely" believes there are people at these protests "who are not local" and have no intention other than to create the scenes that were seen last night.
She said gardaí had to be able to respond "not just to protect themselves but to uphold the law".
Ms McEntee added those who had genuine concerns would "never partake in that type of behaviour".
Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman said that while it was legitimate for people to protest against Government policy, the events seen last night were "entirely unacceptable",
Mr O'Gorman said he would be proceeding with plans to locate approximately 160 International Protection applicants at the site.
Over 1,700 IPAs applicants are without State-provided accommodation at present.
He also expressed concern over "violent acts" being carried out at recent demonstrations.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris described last night's scenes as unacceptable in terms of protest and said the Public Order Unit moved in as tensions began to build.
He said: "Very unacceptable scenes were seen here in terms of a protest, which then turned to violence."
Mr Harris said there was an attempt to burn a small premises, "but also then disgracefully attacks on members of An Garda Síochána who were attacked with stones and indeed vehicles have been damaged and one vehicle, the vehicle behind me, was damaged with an axe".
Describing the damage to garda vehicles, the Commissioner said: "Both the front window and the rear window have been smashed with an axe, not a hatchet, a full-size axe, and also then we've had another vehicle lights broken and the Public Order vehicle with its tyres slashed."
He said there will be subsequent investigations in respect of the disorder last night.
Mr Harris said there was a legitimate purpose for the workers who arrived last night being there.
He added that work is ongoing to provide accommodation for those seeking international protection and that was "a government responsibility".
"Those workers are there in order to see that that happens, so they're there for a legitimate purpose. They were brought in through arrangement with the contractor, and that was to make sure that that happened with the least disruption as possible.
But the work has commenced, and we're going to make sure that the workers are protected to make sure that that work can finish."
Sinn Féin TD Louise O'Reilly said there is "no place" for what happened last night.
Speaking on Today with Claire Byrne, she said: "By all accounts, gardaí came under a sustained attack, garda vehicles were damaged, the gardaí themselves were clearly under attack there."
She added that the public "have to be supportive of An Garda Síochána" but they needed to be resourced.
Ms O’Reilly said the powers existed for gardaí to maintain good order.
However, she said: "But we do need to see the gardaí properly resourced so that they can police incidents like this."
Ms O’Reilly said people are tired of hearing "the same announcements over and over again from the Government."
"I do not know how many times the reception centres announcement now has been made. I think it was originally four, maybe it is six now, still no idea where they are going to go.
"No thought of a communication plan actually being put in place. There is talk about it, but it is not actually working," she added.
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Protesters accuse gardaí of unnecessary force
Local protesters have released a statement accusing gardaí of using unnecessary force and intimidating and aggressive tactics against what they say was a legitimate and peaceful protest.
Videos online appear to show material being burned at the entrance to the site.
There have been ongoing protests in the area since construction work began last month on the former HSE site, where the Department of Integration said it was considering locating 20 eight-person tents for international protection applicants.
Earlier this month, a small fire was lit on the site which gardaí confirmed they were investigating.
Locals say they object to the site being used to accommodate asylum seekers, saying the site is unsuitable and that the resources of the village are already overstretched.
'Not a heavy hand'
The Garda Commissioner also rejected suggestions that the actions of the gardaí were "heavy handed".
"It's not a heavy hand at all. This is a graduated response to what we believe are reasonably foreseeable policing demands that we are going to face here," Mr Harris said.
He said tensions were rising and there was a risk of violence.
"We have to be in a position to protect ourselves and to protect those conducting legitimate business."
He said it was legitimate business for contractors to provide accommodation for those seeking international protection.
"We have an obligation to preserve the peace and to allow legitimate work to continue."
AGSI condemns attacks on gardaí
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors also condemned the attacks on gardaí.
The AGSI said the scenes showed "evidence of escalating stand-offs with gardaí which are worryingly becoming ever more frequent".
Acting General Secretary Ronan Clogher said that one garda sergeant had been injured during the incident.
He said: "AGSI once again must come out to condemn the attacks on gardaí who are simply doing their job and upholding the rule of law.
"Members are facing increasingly angry mobs determined to usurp our role with smartphones in our face and live streamed on social media. We are already on the record as stating our concerns about this and the need for extended training and extra resources.
"We would like to extend our best wishes to our member who is currently receiving treatment for his injuries."
Gardaí maintained a presence at the site following the protest, but say there were no further incidents.
In a statement, An Garda Síochána said that it "respects the right for citizens to exercise their constitutional rights; this right does not extend to breaches of Criminal Law, the interference with the rights of other citizens to carry out their daily activities, or to attack members of An Garda Síochána.
"Any garda activity in relation to evolving events involves a graduated policing response taking into account relevant legislation and public safety, with enforcement as a last resort."
They said they are also aware of misinformation and disinformation being spread about the incident.
Additional reporting: Paul Reynolds
