A Fine Gael by-election candidate has apologised for her "very poor choice of words" when speaking about asylum seekers and direct provision.
Verona Murphy is contesting this month's by-election in Wexford.
In an interview with RTÉ over the weekend, the businesswoman said there were issues with the direct provision system.
She suggested that people protesting about a proposed centre in Oughterard, Co Galway were "absolutely justified because they hadn't been given enough information".
She argued: "These people are coming from such war-torn countries that they have to be deprogrammed, for the want of a better word, but through support services.
"They carry angst that you wouldn't ordinarily see, possibly infiltrated by ISIS and we have to protect ourselves against that."
The comments drew criticism, including from the Irish Refugee Council:
People seeking asylum are fleeing persecution, war and insecurity.
In the particular case of Syria that means fleeing ISIS, the government and others.
If anyone needs 'deprogrammed' it is probably the 100s of western people who went to Syria to fight with ISIS. https://t.co/KDcAEPBaSb— Irish Refugee Council (@IrishRefugeeCo) November 17, 2019
In a statement issued by Fine Gael, Ms Murphy apologised for the comments.
She said: “This was a very poor choice of words and I am very sorry to anyone who was offended by them.
“People coming here fleeing persecution deserve to be treated with compassion and respect.
"They need to be given opportunities to forge a new start for themselves and their families.
"That is why we have direct provision: to provide board and lodging to people seeking asylum."
She added: “The point I was trying to make was that some people coming to this country do so from very difficult circumstances and the support services they need here have a vital role in helping them.”
A spokesperson for Fine Gael added that immigration "enriches our country socially, culturally and economically".
They suggested that 'some form of incentive' is currently being considered to encourage parties to run more candidates from ethnic minorities.
