Henry McKean travelled to Ballybrit in Galway to ask locals about their reaction to the controversial comments by local TD Noel Grealish.
The Galway West TD yesterday claimed €3.54bn in personal transfers had been sent to Nigeria over the past eight years.
He questioned whether the money had been “fully accounted for within the Irish Revenue or tax system and is not the proceeds of crime or fraud.”
A number of TDs responded angrily to the comments, labeling Deputy Grealish a “disgrace” and a “racist.”
The Finance Minister has said the amount of money being sent to Nigeria from Ireland may be far lower than the figure mentioned in the Dáil.
He has urged Deputy Grealish to clarify why he targeted Nigerians over other immigrants while making his point.
Blessing has been living in Galway for nearly two decades. She told Henry:
"I don't send money every month, maybe once in a while... just a little bit, not much.
"On every side you have good and bad people. It makes me really, really sick, people stereotyping Nigerians.
"Irish people travelled to America, to US, Canada and all over - and they sent money, which is the norm. The same time with Africans, the same thing with Nigerians.
"The same way Irish people were sending money home in the 80s to help their families, [that's] the same way we're doing now.
"There are very, very well-educated, hard-working Nigerians at home and abroad - I am telling you, I'm one of them. I work with people with disabilities, and I pay my tax."
One man was in full support of Noel Grealish’s question:
"Noel is elected by the people, and I think he's raising concerns that the people have.
"Everybody I have spoken today in relation to Noel Grealish... they're all on the same wavelength. In this country I think people are afraid to talk.
"To be accused of racism for a comment like that I think is harsh: he was making enquiries about money that was leaving the country to certain countries.
"Noel's a top man in real-life... he's a real people's man."
