Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)

I am sure the Tánaiste saw the Minister for justice's comments yesterday on a case being taken by the Irish Refugee Council in respect of how refugees, those seeking protection in our State, are being treated. Those comments were absolutely outrageous. They were deliberately designed to inflame tensions, to further the tropes that are out there and to pit refugees against homeless people. The most despicable thing is that this is not a once-off. We saw the gleeful tweets about deportations and the tough language last weekend and now we have this. I am fed up. The reality is that the Government is manufacturing a crisis on our streets by forcing men seeking international protection to visibly go homeless before they are accommodated even though there are spaces in the international protection centres. The reality is that this is putting those men in danger and causing great fear for communities, on which it has a real impact. Will the Tánaiste show leadership on this rather than pandering? The stakes are very high, particularly for the communities I represent in Dublin Central. It is like Fort Knox outside Leinster House right now. The barricades are up to protect us against protestors. We talk about the far right but the reality is that there are people in the Tánaiste's Government-----

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