The Fianna Fáil mayor of Cork county told a gathering in Fermoy this month that he would have no problem joining a blockade of asylum seekers due to be provided with accommodation in the town. He made the statement while standing alongside a far-right agitator with a long track record of anti-immigrant rhetoric and activity. The mayor has since made what I consider to be a mealy-mouthed apology for his comments. He made that apology under pressure and only after the riots of last Thursday.

In Leitrim, a crowd of people has protested outside a hotel earmarked for asylum seeker and refugee accommodation. A vigilante blockade has been mounted on streets in and out of the village of Dromahair. Vehicles have been stopped and people have been asked what is their business in the town. At least in some instances, people have been asked for passport identification. Do these people mounting this blockade have the active support of Government councillors in the town?

Thank you, Deputy.

Have any Government councillors been part of the secret WhatsApp group that organised the blockade? Finally-----

No, time is up now, Deputy.

Okay. I would be interested to hear the answers to those questions.

I thank the Deputy. Those sorts of actions do not have any place in our society. The Government has been clear throughout our response to the needs of people newly arriving in this country. The Government engages with communities and provides information but it is not a question of consultation and it is not a question of a veto. No community or individual has a veto over who lives in their town and who lives beside them. That is why we have a community engagement group that is engaged in Dromahair, Fermoy and other places around the country.

Are Government councillors actively supporting blockades?

Please, Deputy.

The Minister did not answer the question.

I call Deputy Grealish.