Martin suggests Varadkar's asylum-seeker comments made for 'political reasons'

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has lashed out at the Taoiseach over his controversial comments on asylum seekers, suggesting they were made for “political reasons”.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr Martin said he was very surprised at the comments by Leo Varadkar.

"I was very surprised by the intervention, both the manner and the timing of the intervention in the sense that he clearly cited two specific countries at a time when there is an ongoing and significant controversy around the asylum seeker process in general,” he said.

"For quite a long time at national level, political leaders have demonstrated a broad consensus on asylum seekers and have decided not to play politics with it."

Asked if Mr Varadkar was 'playing political games' in making the comments, Mr Martin said: "I hope he wasn't".

"There is a sense from his intervention that there was a political element in it. We need to avoid playing politics,” he said.

While Mr Martin said leaders across the political divide have "managed to hold the line" up to now, he said all politicians must be "extremely careful" as any comments could lead to a "downward spiral" in public discourse in general.

Fianna Fáil will be pressing the Taoiseach on his remarks in the Dáil this week.

Health Minister Simon Harris has defended controversial remarks made by the Taoiseach on immigrants, claiming they should not be taken in isolation.

Leo Varadkar has faced a backlash after stating that two eastern European countries are the "big drivers" behind a rise in asylum seekers coming to Ireland.

Mr Varadkar singled out Georgian and Albanian migrants over the weekend, claiming that they are travelling to Ireland with fake documents.

But Simon Harris said Mr Varadkar was simply "injecting facts" into the ongoing debate on immigration.

Mr Harris said the Taoiseach "knows this area very well" given his own "family roots" in relation to immigration.

Protests

It comes after as a number of protests including in Ballinamore, Co Leitirm, and on Mayo's Achill island were mounted by locals outside buildings earmarked to take in asylum seekers.

"What the Taoiseach did was inject facts into the debate, he is relying on factual information in relation to the number of immigration applications and where those applications come from," Minister Harris told RTE's News At One.

"I think when we have a debate about immigration in our country, I think we are well served by fact rather than rhetoric.

"I am very concerned about some of the rhetoric that I have seen across the country in recent weeks, I am very very concerned about how legitimate questions and concerns have been exploited by some," said Mr Harris.

Calling for a mature debate on the issue, Mr Harris also stressed that the Taoiseach had talked about the the fact that the number of immigrants in our country is low compared to international standards.