Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar expressed his concern on Sunday after the fire in a building around which demonstrations against the reception of migrants took place.
Up to 40 firefighters were mobilized to fight this fire, for which they were called at 7 a.m. Sunday.
In a press release, the head of government said he was
“very concerned”
by this fire, which comes after other incidents in the country.
“There is never any justification for violence, arson or vandalism in our Republic
,” he said.
He further noted the profound irony that
"those who try to link immigration and crime are themselves engaging in serious criminal activity
. "
Multiplication of anti-migrant incidents
According to public media RTE, the building, a former retirement home near Dublin, had recently been targeted by demonstrators believing it was going to be used to accommodate refugees.
In December, a hotel which was to accommodate asylum seekers was already the target of an arson attack.
And at the end of November, the capital Dublin was shaken by unprecedented riots, which the authorities attributed to far-right agitators, after a knife attack which left four injured, including three children.
The government notably blamed the spread of rumors on social networks, with some Internet users claiming that the attacker was an
“illegal immigrant”
or an
“Algerian national”
.