Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

I do not doubt for a minute that the Tánaiste is utterly opposed to and condemns the arson attacks, racist violence, lies, misinformation and so on. I do not doubt that. I do think the Government bears a responsibility - not the same responsibility, of course, as the far right. For example, it has placed over 1,000 people who have come here seeking asylum in harm's way by putting them on the streets. That is a policy choice it has made. It created a two-tier asylum process which legitimised some of the arguments suggesting that these people are not legitimate asylum seekers. That is one level on which the Government is responsible.

The second is the real issues that affect people, the housing crisis, which gets worse day on day, the inequality and the health crisis. The Government is responsible because of the economic system and those that it represents, namely, the corporate landlords, private developers and so on. Of course, none of that justifies any racist violence or is the fault of asylum seekers. It is true, however, that the far right tries to tap into real, legitimate issues and then direct anger away from the Government and those at the top of our society towards those at the bottom. That is precisely why, on Saturday, we are marching to demand homes for all, healthcare for all and the tackling of inequality as well as to reject the racism and hatred spread by the far right.

See this speech in context