Immigrant Council warns refugee protests will drive wedges of division in communities

Up to 70 people attended a protest in Fermoy on Wednesday evening against newly-housed asylum seekers at a former convent in the town.

Protestors in Fermoy on Wednesday evening demanded the immediate deportation of 66 recently arrived international protection applicants.

Protests such as those in Fermoy and East Wall in recent days will drive wedges of division in communities and re-traumatise people arriving, according to the Immigrant Council of Ireland.

The council’s chief executive, Brian Killoran, appealed for calm in localities where communities are frustrated, and urged the Government to increase its level of planning for people fleeing to Ireland.