Society may pay a high price if politicians engage in attacks' on marginalised groups for short term political gain, the Minister for Social Welfare has warned.
Recent criticisms of lone parents, travellers and non nationals, if allowed to continue unchallenged, could lead to a divided society in which everyone would have something to lose, Mr De Rossa said on a visit to the Northside Community Partnership in Sligo.
"We must put a stop to any attempt to drive a wedge between any one group of social welfare recipients and another whose position may be marginally different," he said.