Anti-Roma protesters branded a lynch mob

Anti-Roma protesters in Waterford have been branded "effectively a lynch mob" by a minister.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, minister of state for equality and new communities at the Department of Justice, condemned the actions of a 200-strong crowd which gathered at the weekend forcing three families to flee the area.

He said the demonstration, whipped up by a Facebook page called “Get Them Out Of Here” was a “particularly cowardly act of picking on a soft target”.

Mr Ó Ríordáin said that if people were concerned about any individual committing criminal acts, they should report them to the gardaí. “If people have evidence about criminality they should go to the gardaí instead of getting involved in what is effectively a lynch mob,” he told RTÉ.

Abuse was hurled and property damaged during a four-hour protest in Manor St, Waterford, when a crowd’s anger was directed at the homes of three Roma families comprising more than 30 adults and children.

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams also branded the protests “unacceptable”.

He said: “There can be no room in society for this type of behaviour. Anyone with information relating to allegations of criminality should bring that to the proper authorities.”