Up to 17 asylum seekers moved into a hotel in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, which has been the subject of protests in recent days.
The garda public order unit was present outside the Racket Hall Hotel yesterday afternoon while the international protection applicants, understood to be women and children, were being brought into the hotel premises.
There were stand-offs between protesters and gardaí as the operation took place and a significant number of gardaí remained present for some time.
There were up to 200 people protesting at one point.
About 40 protesters remained on the scene yesterday afternoon and some gardaí were still present, although the public order unit was stood down.
It is understood one man was arrested under the Public Order Act and later released.
The Government plans to house up to 160 asylum seekers in Racket Hall as it struggles to accommodate the number of people arriving in Ireland seeking international protection.
Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary Jackie Cahill said that in a democratic country, people are entitled to protest, but he hoped that it would remain peaceful.
Mr Cahill said he and local Councillor Michael Smith were meeting Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman today to discuss Roscrea being given extra resources.
He told RTÉ’s Drivetime: "We don’t want to see anyone getting hurt. The guards were there to ensure the asylum seekers got entry into the hotel and hopefully they’re comfortable, it’s a very, very cold night and it’s far better than being in a tent.
"There’s women and children who went in there today, hopefully they will be comfortable there and I’m sure more are going to come over the next couple of days to Roscrea and that they’re accommodated satisfactorily there.
"The people of Roscrea have the right to protest, they have concerns and hopefully tomorrow after our meeting with Minister O’Gorman we can get extra resources for the town that will maybe alleviate some of those concerns of the people of Roscrea."
Mr Cahill said threats had been made in relation to the accommodation, but that this was an "isolated incident" and he reported it to the garda superintendent in charge.
He said that "if someone got hurt there today, some people would be saying other things".
Asked if asylum seekers were in danger, he said that there had not been any issues up to now with the other centres.
"I couldn't see a situation where those people would suffer any physical harm and that I couldn't see the people of Roscrea doing that," he added.
Mr Cahill said he would be raising the concept of extra funding and extra resources for Roscrea in areas such as general practice and education with the minister.
He said: "Roscrea has a lot of asylum seekers and Ukrainians in the town and one of the biggest issues is that this is the only hotel in the town and there's no place for functions etc.
"All these issues have to be addressed."
"The minister now has to step up to the plate for Roscrea as there are serious challenges facing the town," he added.
'Rule of law' must apply - Tánaiste
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he understands there are concerns about moving international protection applicants to communities around the country, but the rule of law must apply.
Mr Martin was speaking before the news broke of a standoff between gardaí and protesters as the asylum seekers were moving into the hotel.
He said the country has managed to deal with pressure over the accommodation of immigrants for more than three decades and he accepted that that pressure had increased recently.
Mr Martin said: "I understand there are concerns and so forth and we have to work in terms of communication and in terms of working with communities across the length and breadth of country, but I would have to say that there are many centres that are working well, that have been well received within their communities and we should not lose sight of that either, where there has been good integration with the education system and healthcare facilities have stood up to the test.
"I think it's important that the rule of law applies in all cases, and that we have an ordered, coherent approach as a society to these issues. It's an issue that is not just confined to Ireland, but nonetheless we have to deal with it as well."
Asked how the Government was going to deal with those concerns, Mr Martin said: "We're going to work with communities and we're going to, as a Government, increase capacity and we will be working on that, just as we have been over the last three decades."
Additional reporting Paschal Sheehy
