Three men and one woman have been charged for offenses contrary to the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 following an attack on gardaí in Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow on Thursday night.
The incident occurred at a site that had been earmarked as accommodation for asylum seekers, prompting protests in recent weeks.
The four are set to appear before the District Court on Friday, An Garda Síochána said in an update on Friday morning.
One man has been charged with alleged offences contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 and the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1997, and released to appear before court at a later date.
One male juvenile has been released without charge. A referral will be prepared for the Youth Diversion Project in accordance with the Children Act 2001.
An Garda Síochána said on Thursday night that six arrests had been made after gardaí on duty outside a premises in Newtownmountkennedy came under attack.
After visiting Newtownmountkennedy on Friday, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said: "There were very unacceptable scenes seen here in terms of a protest, which then turned to violence.
"We’ve seen an attempt to burn a small outhouse type premises, but also then disgracefully attacks on members of An Garda Síochána who were attacked with stones and indeed vehicles have been damaged, and one vehicle, the vehicle behind me, was damaged with an axe.
"As we can see with a normal patrol vehicle, both front window and the rear window have been smashed with an axe, not a hatchet, a full size axe. And also then we've had another vehicle lights broken and the Public Order vehicle with its tyres slashed.
"Beyond that, there was there were attempts to injure members of An Garda Síochána. Rubble and stones were thrown from fields and members had to deploy in protective public order equipment and shields to make sure that they could protect themselves from the assaults upon them.”
The incident in Newtownmountkennedy has been condemned by Ireland's leading politicians.
According to RTÉ News, Taoiseach Simon Harris said in Wicklow on Friday: "You don't protest in this country with an axe. You don't engage in protest that involves fire and then it was burning thing that involves thuggery and that involves assaulting members of An Garda Síochána or their vehicles.
"That is socially unacceptable and reprehensible behaviour in this country."
The Taoiseach thanked the gardaí for their work, and added: "There are laws, the laws apply to all and the laws will be enforced."
Ireland's Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said on X on Friday morning that "any attack on a member of an Garda Síochána is an attack on our democracy and our state."
Any attack on a member of an Garda Síochána is an attack on our democracy and our state. Gardai have my full support in their work & while peaceful protest is a right we all value, we will not tolerate vandalism and attacks on Gardai.
— Helen McEntee TD (@HMcEntee) April 26, 2024
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast on Friday morning, McEntee said: "This is a site as we know that has been identified to house and to put up tents for international protection applicants.
"My colleague Minister Roderic O'Gorman, who we are all working to support, is trying to accommodate those who are arriving here, who are applying for international protection.
"We've all seen the tents, we've all seen what's happening over the last number of months where we do have a housing crisis, but we do also have an obligation to accommodate people.
"What we've also seen - and I think we all very much value the right in this country for people to protest and to protest peacefully - but people do not have a right to prevent someone from entering their property, from people going to work, from people developing a site that they own, and that is what has happened here on this site.
"Gardaí will always police by consent and again we value that in this country. We value the fact that our gardaí know how to judge a situation, know how to manage it, know how to respond effectively.
"But when you have gardaí doing their job, helping to clear a site so that somebody can get on to it, and then coming under attack, they have to respond, and that is exactly what happened last night."
McEntee noted that the particular site in Newtownmountkennedy had been cleared by gardaí "a number of times" but that it "did escalate last night."
She added: "I don't think anybody looking at the pictures from last night would disagree with the approach that gardaí have taken."
She said she "absolutely" thought gardaí were justified in their actions on Thursday night.
"Law and order has to be upheld, the rules have to be upheld, our laws have to be upheld, and while people have a right to protest, absolutely, you cannot have gardaí coming under fire for the work that they do."
She added: "I absolutely believe that there are people at these protests who are not local, who have no intention other than to create the scenes that we saw last night."
Meanwhile, RTÉ News reported on Friday that local protesters have since released a statement accusing gardaí of using unnecessary force against what they described as a legitimate and peaceful protest.
Protests have taken place at the former HSE site since last month when the Department of Integration announced that it was considering locating eight 20-person tents for international protection applicants at the site.
There was a fire at the site, allegedly arson, in the early hours of April 13.
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