Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has come under increased scrutiny following his comments on migrants, which have been described as "deeply disturbing" by the chairperson of the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council.
This comes after a recording circulated on social media, where Ahern can be heard saying in a conversation that "the ones I worry about are the Africans", adding that he was concerned about the level of immigration and that Ireland "can't be taking in people" coming from "the Congo", as well as the next generation of Muslims in Ireland.
The video was filmed while Mr Ahern was joining Fianna Fáil's Dublin Central bye-election candidate, John Stephens while canvassing in the constituency.
Elsewhere, Ahern goes on to say that Ireland should accept people from Ukraine, given the ongoing conflict with Russia.
Ahern later claimed that the video was part of a longer conversation, and was filmed "around nine or ten days ago".
"I support Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan's policies on immigration, let there be no doubt about," Mr Ahern stated. "I have said in the past the asylum process should be quicker, but I do acknowledge it has speeded up a bit in recent times".
"I have no problem with people who come here through the visa and asylum systems," he said. He also added that many African people who had gone through the system successfully live and work in his local area.
Bertie Ahern has said that he has "no problem with people who come to Ireland through the visa and asylum systems", having been criticised for his "vile and odious" comments on immigration.
The former politician's remarks have been heavily criticised by Chief Imam of the Islamic Centre of Ireland Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, who called them "disturbing and offensive to all immigrants".
Speaking about these comments, Dr Al-Qadri said that "while it's important to discuss the challenges facing Ireland openly and honestly, we must avoid rhetoric that scapegoats entire communities".
"Such remarks reflect a worrying lack of understanding and I believe they risk undermining the values of respect and inclusion that Irish society stands for," he said. "I was deeply disappointed, as I said, because I know Bertie has had many Muslims as his friends, many immigrants as his friends for the past 20, 30 years and for him to say that ... it was really disappointing".
Elsewhere, Taoiseach Micheál Martin described Ahern's comments in the video as "not appropriate".
"I think it's not appropriate, in my view, to be specific about any given ethnicity. And that's not, in my view, correct or proper," he said.
He added: "We have to respect people with many different ethnicities in Ireland, many Irish citizens with different ethnic backgrounds, and that has to be respected".
Mr Martin insisted that Ireland has a "fair and robust" asylum system, referring to reforms brought in by Justice Minister, Jim O'Callaghan towards an "efficient and accelerated process".
He went on to add that appeals and asylum cases are now dealt with efficiently, saying that "quite a number" of applications do not achieve asylum status.
"I think one of the big problems in the past was that the process went on for years, and it went on too long. And I think we now have that", he said. "We have a broader migration story where people work, come into work in our health service through work permits or through the European Union, and are very, very valuable part of our economic life and of our healthcare system, and indeed our caring system as well".
