Romania's ambassador to Ireland has accused members of the Roma community camped at a roundabout off Dublin's M50 motorway of trying to mislead the public into believing they live in desperate conditions at home.
Silvia Stancu Davidoiu said an investigation by the government in Romania had found that many of those in the camp had been in receipt of social assistance at home or had permanent addresses in blocks of the flats.
She rejected claims that members of the group had lived in tents at a dump in Romania as a "falsity" and members of the community had been offered jobs locally at an Italian shoe-making factory.
The ambassador, however, was unable to confirm details of how many were in receipt of social assistance at home or the addresses of families who lived at permanent addresses in Romania.
"How can whole families living in rubbish dumps, therefore having no property or financial means, finance their flights to Ireland? How much do more than 50 flight tickets to Ireland cost? And how can families with no resources or property support such costs?" ambassador Stancu Davidoiu said.
"For almost two months now we have witnessed a campaign, spearheaded by the Pavee Point and the Roma Support Group, which uses mendacious assertions aimed at misleading the Irish public into believing that for the Roma persons at the M50 roundabout returning back to Romania, and thus putting an end to their difficult situation, is by no means an option," she said.
"We are first and foremost concerned about attempts to manipulate the Irish public with a blend of untrue declarations and distortions of fact."
Ronnie Fay of Pavee Point yesterday said she was disappointed by the ambassador's comments and said numerous reports had highlighted widespread discrimination against members of the Roma community. She said the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance revealed high levels of prejudice and intolerance towards the Roma community.
Ms Stancu Davidoiu said significant progress was being made in ensuring members of the Roma community enjoy a better quality of life. She said campaign groups and some of the media were embracing "stereotypes about the supposed discrimination the Roma minority is suffering in Romania".
She said: "These groups are obviously not familiar with the considerable progress Romania has made over the last years in addressing the minority issues. We remind all those prone to believe that we discriminate against our ethnic minorities, particularly against the Roma, that the observance of the minority rights was a prerequisite in fulfilling the European Union's political criteria."