Protestors confront gardaí at an anti-immigration protest in Dublin on Saturday. Rolling News
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has "unreservedly" condemned a number of anti-immigration protests at a makeshift asylum seekers camp in Dublin.
Dozens of tents have been pitched near the International Protection Office on Mount Street and surrounding streets since March due to a serious accommodation shortage.
On Saturday, protestors shouted at asylum seekers living in the tents, telling them that they weren't welcome, with some protestors pursuing a man they objected to.
A number of Garda units (Irish police) attended the scene on Saturday. No arrests were made, but RTÉ News reports that there were confrontations between protestors and members of An Garda Síochána (Irish police).
A day earlier, a group of men tore down a number of tents pitched near the International Protection Office before setting several tents on fire, drawing widespread condemnation.
A large crowd gathered on Friday night to protest against the presence of asylum seekers in the area and attacked the makeshift camp after gardaí left the area, according to the Sunday World.
In footage recorded before tents were set on fire, a man said protestors were "going in" to the camp because they were not happy with it being in the area.
"These are young, local lads and they are going in to remove the tents," the man said in the video. "Cause they care about the women and the children in the area."
Gardaí said no one was in the camp at the time of the fire, adding that no one was injured.
A man in his 30s has been arrested in connection with Friday night's protest and has since been charged with a minor public order offense.
Varadkar condemned the protests, adding that they had been organized by a "tiny minority" of people attempting to "make capital out of a difficult situation".
He added that incidents such as Friday night's protest cannot be tolerated.
Minister for Justice Simon Harris described the incident as "utterly appalling and unacceptable", while Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin said it was an "outrage".
"This is not who we are as a people," Ó Broin said in a tweet following Friday's protest.
The Irish Refugee Council said Friday night's events were of deep concern, describing the incident as a new low.
Meanwhile, a group called the Revolutionary Housing League has revealed that it has found alternative accommodation for the asylum seekers living in the makeshift camp, adding that it has informed asylum seekers that it is no longer safe to live in the camp.
The group said it has brought asylum seekers to "a long-vacant building with heating, electricity, water and furnishing".