A crowd has gathered again today at the site of the former Crowne Paints factory in Coolock, County Dublin.
They have been arriving since around 10 am this morning following yesterday’s violent scenes, which resulted in 21 people being brought before the courts.
Bollards were erected overnight to block people from entering the site.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee has confirmed that the site is still planned to accommodate asylum seekers.
Coolock protest
Around 100 people are protesting peacefully outside the site this evening, where rebel music is being played and many are carrying the tricolour.
There remains a visible Garda presence close to the site.
A number of face masks have also been distributed among the crowd after Gardaí used pepper spray on some people last night.
Meanwhile, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) has requested a meeting with the Garda Commissioner regarding yesterday's events in Coolock.
They have expressed concern that the delay in dispatching the Garda Public Order Units put their members in danger.
Fireworks and rocks being thrown at gardaí yesterday. Image: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNewsFianna Fáil Senator Timmy Dooley told Newstalk he believes Gardai should have access to water cannons.
“There needs to be an appropriate strategy put in place to deal with these kinds of events, and that does require escalating measures,” he said. “
“You cannot have a section of the city taken over by a group of thugs who are waiting for this to happen - these are low-level criminals.
“There should have been significant learnings from what happened back in November of last year, and at the time I was one of the first to suggest that there should have been water cannons.
“I know the Gardaí then brought water cannon equipment from the north of Ireland - where is that now?”
Garda response
Taoiseach Simon Harris has praised Gardai for their response to the situation in Coolock.
“Every community has a right to be engaged with,” he said.
“What we saw last night was such a distance away from a question about community engagement; it was sheer thuggery, and it should be called as such.
“I want to really thank the Gardaí for the very swift action they took.”
Reporting from Sheila Naughton and Sean Defoe.
Main image: A large Irish flag is waved by the crowd of anti-immigration protesters at the Crown Paints Site today.Photograph: RollingNews.ie
