Varadkar 'disappointed' over asylum seeker clashes

Leo Varadkar said the scenes outside the former Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea were “anti freedom”.

The Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) says he was “very disappointed” to see protesters and Gardai (Irish police) clash over asylum seekers in Tipperary.

Leo Varadkar said the scenes on Monday night outside the former Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea were “anti freedom”.

Protesters, reportedly reaching 200 at their maximum, have maintained a presence outside the former hotel in order to stop more refugees entering the building.

A total of 160 International Protection applicants are to be housed there for the next year, temporarily shuttering the town’s only hotel, as the Repubic of Ireland continues to battle a refugee accommodation crisis.

Seventeen international protection applicants, mostly women and children, had to be escorted by Garda officers to the building as other officers formed a human chain to keep the protesters from blocking the entrance.

Some children could be seen crying in fear with their parents shielding their faces, others were carrying infants.

One man was arrested and has since been released.

A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

In the aftermath, protesters claimed the Gardai were armed, although this has been debunked.

The protesters who are from the local area say that the town does not have the facilities to support those being placed there, noting Roscrea has already accommodated a number of Ukrainian families.

Protesters began to gather outside the hotel on Monday

However, well known far-right actors who are not from the area have been pictured there, while other far right accounts have been posting in support of the protest on social media.

Pictured at the site of the protest are signs which state: “Ireland is Full”, “Asylum Money Racket”and “Justice for the Roscrea People”.

The taoiseach says everyone has a right to protest, but not break the law.

“Ireland is a republic, we’re a democracy, we’re a free country and in a free country and democracy people have the right to protest and hold views that other people may find objectionable,

"However, no one has the right to engage in violence against individuals, damage property or prevent people getting to their home or work.

“That’s anti-democratic, that’s anti freedom and that’s against the spirit and values of our nation.

“I do understand how some people in Roscrea feel, bear in mind only a small minority were involved in the events yesterday and some weren’t from Roscrea."

Mr Varadkar added that at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday he will be asking all ministers to take the 10 districts with the highest proportion of people from Ukraine and those seeking international protection and put together a special package to help the areas under pressure.

Minister with responsibility for international protection Roderic O'Gorman told RTÉ that he does not have plans to visit Roscrea, but will meet local representatives.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said: "I think the most effective thing I can do is meet with the TDs, meet with the local representatives, hear what are the resourcing challenges that the town is facing at the moment and see what I and government colleagues can do to respond in a meaningful way.”

Analysis: 'Battling anti-refugee sentiment'

By BBC News NI Dublin reporter Aoife Moore

Despite the Republic of Ireland’s long history of emigration, it is now battling a growing anti-refugee sentiment.

Some small towns in which residents say they have long been neglected in terms of services, including in infrastructure, transport and health facilities, like in Roscrea, are seeing international protection applicants placed there.

The concerns over services are further being stoked by far-right actors online, often not from the area and travelling there to join locals in protests.

Many flood message apps with racist sentiment regarding whichever area is currently in the news.

This pattern has played out everywhere from Tipperary, to Roscommon and Clare.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said after the riots in Dublin last year, sparked by an attack on children outside school, that Ireland was seeing “an element of radicalisation that is disruptive to our society.”

The gardai have been criticised for their previous soft-handed approach to the attacks and protests on refugee centres, which critics say have allowed the far right to become emboldened.

Mr Harris said at the time that a heavy handed garda response would play into the hands of those online seeking to garner sympathy for their anti-immigration cause.

The scenes in Roscrea display new gardai tactics, however, it will be up to the Irish government to tackle the growing misinformation and anti-immigrant sentiment festering online and through message services.