Sinn Fein calls for end to violence over Dublin asylum seekers site at Coolock
Sinn Fein has called for an end to violence after disturbances at a former factory site in north Dublin earmarked as housing for asylum seekers.
Gardai have come under attack and fires were set in the last week at the former Crown Paints factory in Coolock.
The building is to be renovated to accommodate more than 500 International Protection Applicants.
Protests have been organised at the site by a group called “Coolock Says No”.
On Friday night, three gardai officers were injured in clashes. On Sunday, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said she has pressed Taoiseach Simon Harris over engagement and dialogue around the situation.
In a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Ms McDonald wrote “I have spoken to an Taoiseach @SimonHarrisTD this morning about the urgent need for engagement and dialogue with the Coolock community.
“The violence must end and those responsible held to account. Order and calm must be restored and the people must be heard.”
Earlier, Mr Harris said government can do more to engage with “legitimate’ migration concerns”.
He said he made a clear distinction between those who had legitimate concerns over increased immigration numbers, and those engaging in disorder and criminal damage at sites earmarked for asylum seeker accommodation.
Mr Harris said the attacks on gardai were not caused by concerns over a lack of community engagement. He insisted it was instead "thuggery and lawlessness" perpetrated by people who "will exploit any divisive situation".
He said it was right that gardai responded with the "full rigours of the law".
While the Taoiseach insisted the issue of community engagement was a separate one, he acknowledged the Government did need to do more on that front.
"I think we do need to do more as a government in terms of community engagement," he said.
"I'm very clearly drawing a line down the middle here because I'm not conflating the two (community engagement and those engaged in violence). I refuse to conflate the two, I find that a despicable concept.
"But I do think when it comes to community engagement now I'm very eager to support Minister O'Gorman (Integration minister Roderic O'Gorman ) in providing more resourcing, that we could have more people working on the issue of community engagement.
"We have to recognise here that the overwhelming majority of people in this country are decent. The overwhelming majority of people in this country understand the benefits of migration.
"It is a good thing. I'm not going to go down the road of making mistakes that other governments of the past and other countries did in relation to migration.
"But we also have to recognise that if you're living in a small town or a small village and hundreds of new people move in, whether that's in a new housing estate or through migration, of course that raises legitimate questions that people ask. What does that mean for the school (etc)?
"We have to be ready to engage, to engage more on that as well.
"I also think this summer we're going to see something quite important happen, and it's not without challenge, but we are going to see a number of hotels, bed and breakfasts, and community centres that were being used for migration being put back into public use.
"So yes, we have a lot of work to do in relation to this."