Mr Ivor Callely TD has been roundly criticised by human rights groups and the Progressive Democrat Minister of State, Ms Liz O'Donnell, over his call for a "get tough" policy towards asylum-seekers.
Ms O'Donnell said she was very, very disturbed by the comments of Mr Callely, the chairman of the Eastern Health Board and Fianna Fail TD for Dublin North Central.
Human rights groups condemned Mr Callely for his "dangerous and hysterical pronouncement", urging other health board members to reject it and make a public apology to all asylum-seekers.
Mr Callely had called on the Government to "throw out" illegal immigrants, claiming many were cashing in on benefits. He also criticised Ms O'Donnell's recent remarks in which she described Government policy on asylum-seekers as a shambles in the wake of the closure of a State-run application centre for immigrants on Dublin's Mount Street.
Ms O'Donnell strongly defended these remarks, saying she had "no regrets about articulating concerns about the current state of affairs which resulted in people queuing out of doors for long periods to access services to which they are absolutely entitled".
Ms O'Donnell, the Minister responsible for human rights, yesterday said she was concerned "at the tenor and substance" of Mr Callely's comments as chairman of the EHB, which provides emergency services to refugees and asylum-seekers.
"I would be interested to know whether his comments reflect the views of the board. That's very important to establish. Perhaps he was just speaking in his personal capacity," she said.
Although Mr Callely could not be contacted by The Irish Times last night, it appeared from an RTE interview yesterday he was speaking in a personal capacity.
Asked whether she thought Mr Callely should consider his position on the board, Ms O'Donnell said she didn't feel it was worth "homing in on that particular aspect".
Ms O'Donnell said her "shambles" remarks had not caused any division within the coalition Government and she welcomed debate on the issue, as long as it remained rational.
"Let's not preside over a situation where ad-hoc policy is being developed without due regard to our international obligations or the human rights context." Ms O'Donnell was speaking to journalists at a UNHCR conference on refugee women in Dublin yesterday, where she made an opening address.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties strongly condemned Mr Callely's remarks, accusing him of making a "dangerous and hysterical pronouncement, with sentiments reminiscent of Enoch Powell's rivers of blood speech".
"It is simply unacceptable for the chair of a public body which deals with asylum-seekers to make such offensive and potentially dangerous remarks," said the council's director, Mr Donncha O'Connell.
Mr O'Connell called on the Government and the Minister for Health and Children to reject publicly Mr Callely's statement "in the interests of restoring confidence and credibility in the EHB".
Fine Gael MEP Ms Mary Banotti, who also chaired a session at the conference, said Mr Callely's remarks were "characteristically populist and dangerous because of his EHB position and the fractious situation of asylum-seekers in Dublin".
She said there was, "to put it mildly, a tinder-box within Government" on the issue.
Mr Michael Lindenbauer, the UNHCR's senior liaison officer in Dublin, said the increase in asylum-seekers in the State was in line with other European countries, and he cautioned against overreaction.
"There's no cause for panic reaction and throwing established procedures overboard to get a quick fix. On the contrary, we need to stick to Irish obligations in the asylum-process."
Dr Colin Harvey from Amnesty International said words mattered in the refugee debate and it was "essential that inaccurate and provocative slogans did not frustrate a mature response to the issue".