SINN FÉIN LEADER Mary Lou McDonald has called on Taoiseach Simon Harris and the government to “establish a process of engagement and dialogue between government departments, agencies, and the community in Coolock”.

In a statement posted on X, she said that while she had had constructive meetings with residents and community groups in the area, “the fear, anger and frustration felt across the community was articulated time and again”.

“The rejection of racism and the need to welcome and integrate new people to Coolock is understood and supoorted. The need to have support, resources, and amenities to enable integration is absolutely vital,” she said.

The statement comes as Sinn Féin are set to release a new immigration policy document, which “will bring clarity to everybody in relation to where we stand”, according to Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty.

The party said that it will include calls for quicker processing times and the issue of safe return of asylum seekers, as well as the adding of more countries to the safe list.

A number of public order instances have broken out in the Coolock area over the last week, with emergency services called to multiple fires at the old Crown Paints factory, which has been earmarked to house international protection applicants.

A number of Gardaí were injured, and over 20 people have been arrested.

Earlier yesterday, Taoiseach Simon Harris warned that anyone who engages in “thuggery” and breaks the law while taking part in protests at Coolock will “face the full rigour of the law”.

Speaking in Donegal, he said: “In relation to protest, anybody in Ireland is legitimately entitled to protest, it is a key tenet of our democracy and it is something I would always support the right that people have to protest.

“But I have to say what we have seen in recent days has not been that.

“What we have seen in recent days has been an attempt by a relatively small number of people to engage in lawlessness, to engage in thuggery and to engage in criminal activity.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee, in a statement on X, condemned what she said was a “a small minority of individuals are inciting violence and fear in an attempt to divide our communities”.