Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says far-right racism is ‘not the Irish way’

Speaking outside Leinster House this afternoon, the Taoiseach said he was “very concerned” about the rise of the “rise of the far-right” and racism in Ireland.

“Refugees are welcome here and it is important that we have a robust system in place to make sure that we welcome those who are genuinely fleeing war and oppression and return those who are not,” he said.

“I want people to be assured that that is what we will do, but the scenes we have seen in recent days and recent weeks really are not acceptable and it is not the Irish way.

“Irish people understand migration. All of our families have been shaken by it. We’ve been welcomed all around the world and in some parts of the world, we’ve been mistreated.

“As a country, we should know better and the scenes we have seen in recent days and recent weeks really must be condemned.

“It is not the Irish way of doing things. It is not in accordance with our history and our culture and certainly, where there has been any violence or any breaches of law, the Gardaí are on top of that.”

The Taoiseach added: “We want to particularly make sure that protests don’t occur outside people’s homes.

"There are places where people can protest but it shouldn’t be outside the residence of vulnerable people – particularly when there are children in there as well.”

Mr Varadkar’s comments come as a number of protests have been held across the country to protest immigration and the housing of refugees in Ireland.

In Dublin city centre last night, part of the Luas line was blocked by demonstrators as hundreds more gathered outside Finglas Garda Station.