The President of the European Parliament has said she is very concerned at the increasing levels of intolerance towards refugees taking hold across the European Union.
Speaking to RTÉ's Prime Time Roberta Metsola said: "This is something that you can see across the European Union where you have a narrative, that can take hold quite easily of intolerance, of hatred of some sort of nostalgia for what we had or what we were.
"Whereas in reality, we are living in a global world where we have to show solidarity with who looks at the EU for protection."
Ms Metsola said there was no "magical silver bullet" and that discussions are taking place within the European Union to develop an all-encompassing migration policy, "one that protects who is eligible, that is firm with who is not, and that is strong with who goes to protect the most vulnerable people on the planet."
When asked if Ireland should limit the number of people coming here seeking protection Ms Metsola said: "Refugees in the global sense of the word is an obligation that all countries, such as Ireland, such as my own, such as all members of the European Union and international community have an obligation to protect.
"But there is also a discussion as to whether you come here for protection, you come here for work, whether you can be returned if you're not eligible for protection."
Earlier, the Labour Party called for a more coordinated approach from Government to housing refugees and asylum seekers.
Party leader Ivana Bacik told the Dáil there should be a "single point of contact and centralised systems for managing the State response".
She said that despite the appointment of Joe O'Brien as junior minister with responsibility for integration, the location of housing was still being done on an ad-hoc basis.
There is also insufficient communication with the opposition and local communities, she said.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin defended the Government's response saying it is being done on a cross-departmental basis pointing to the cabinet subcommittee on Ukraine.
He also said that former Limerick city manager Conn Murray had been appointed to coordinate work on the housing side.
But he acknowledged that more communication was needed.
Ms Bacik also said there were sinister actors trying to further a far right agenda.
She said they were seeking to exploit an information vacuum to sow fear and distrust in communities.
