PROTESTS IN ROSCREA have been criticised after scuffles outside Racket Hall left children arriving to receive shelter distressed.

Protests outside the hotel continued overnight, following a demonstration numbering up to 300 yesterday evening.

Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman has said he will speak with Tipperary TDs to discuss support to services in Roscrea in light of the arrival of International Protection Applicants families to the area.

Last night, crowds gathered to hear speeches by local activists, while far-right agitators arrived to speak to locals at the hotel’s entrance, repeating many anti-immigration tropes around population replacement and so-called ‘plantations’.

Gardaí from the Public Order Unit were deployed earlier as 17 asylum seekers – understood to be three families with young children – arrived to receive shelter in the hotel.

Speaking to RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland programme today, O’Gorman said it’s “not acceptable” for people to block entrances to accommodation and stressed that plans to house 160 people isn’t changing due to the government’s need to house refugees and asylum seekers arriving in Ireland.

“I’ve always said I respect people’s rights to protest, people’s right to disagree with decisions government has taken but I also think that people can do that in a way that doesn’t impact on vulnerable people, and particularly doesn’t block vulnerable people from being able to access their accommodation,” he said, adding he appreciated the support of gardaí in handling the arrival of asylum seekers into the area.

“I think it was important that we were able to access the accommodation in Racket Hall accommodation for families accommodation for single female applicants,” he said.

The Green Party TD added: “My understanding is that families are settling in but it was difficult enough experience, children were upset seeing the scuffles and I suppose experiencing the tension as they arrived, but my understanding is they were settling into the hotel last night.”

He said he currently has no plans to travel to Roscrea but he said he plans to speak with local TDs and councillors to discuss concerns around services in the town and its ability to provide for refugees and asylum seekers.

“I think right now the most effective thing that I can do is meet with the TDs and meet with the local representatives, hear what are the resourcing challenges that the town is facing at the moment and see what I and government colleagues can do to respond to those challenges in a meaningful way,” O’Gorman said.

He said that some people were seeking “to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment” around the situation and promised that the government would try to combat “distortion” and “inaccuracies” about refugees and asylum seekers in future.

Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill appealed for calm and said he would be meeting with O’Gorman today regarding extra resources for the county.

Cahill told RTÉ Radio One’s Drivetime programme yesterday that he was warned by one individual last week that the hotel would be targeted for an arson attack.

He told the programme that he reported the matter to Roscrea gardaí.

“I would hope and pray that there won’t be one [attack] at Racket Hall,” he said.

Gardaí confirmed to The Journal that they received information about an arson attack and are assessing the threat.

“I refer to your query and am to advise while An Garda Síochána does not comment on specific conversation with third parties, An Garda Síochána can confirm information was received,” a Garda spokesperson said.

“Any such information received by An Garda Síochána is subject of an assessment. An Garda Síochána takes any suggestion of a threat very seriously and could be subject of an investigation.

“An Garda Síochána has no further comment, at this time.”

Update: An earlier version of this article said the families were Ukrainian. The Department of Integration has since said the families are International Protection applicants.