The Mayor of Tramore, Co Waterford, has claimed the seaside town has enough asylum-seekers and that it is time to "call a halt" to further arrivals.
There was an increase of 364 per cent in the number of asylum-seekers living in Waterford city and county during the 22 months to October 31st last, by which date 1,155 were registered with the South Eastern Health Board as having Waterford addresses.
Tramore has one of the highest concentrations of asylum-seekers per head of population in the State on foot of the Government's dispersal policy which saw large numbers of immigrants sent to privately owned accommodation in the town that had previously been used by holidaymakers.
The Mayor of Tramore, Cllr Blaise Hannigan (FF), said yesterday: "I believe we have enough asylum-seekers in the town, with hundreds here at the moment. We are a seaside town, and a lot of people have put investment in the town such as hoteliers, B&B owners and business people.
"We either want to be a popular seaside resort or a place like Mosney to house asylum-seekers. I feel it is time to call a halt to this drain on resources when local people are finding it more difficult to find accommodation."
However, Mr Hannigan's fellow town councillor, Mr Eddie Walsh (Ind), expressed disgust and disappointment at the Mayor's comments.
"I am totally outraged and disgusted at the Mayor's use of stereotypical language to deal with the issue of asylum-seekers," he said.
"This is racist language and is inciting people. He should go and visit these people and listen to their experiences and their interest in becoming fully integrated members of our community.
"These people are not blocking the development of businesses, and to say so is outrageous. In fact they are keen to participate in society, with many of them working voluntarily on clean-ups in the community.
"The Mayor's comment about Mosney was also unhelpful. I acknowledge there are bogus asylum-seekers but to tarnish them all is unacceptable in this day and age. There has never been any trouble from asylum-seekers in Tramore, and I am disappointed at Blaise's remarks."