Six arrested after anti-immigrant protest in Dublin turns violent

Six people have been arrested after protesters clashed with Irish police in Dublin during anti-immigration demonstrations sparked by the alleged sexual assault of a young girl.

Hundreds of protesters gathered on Tuesday night outside the CityWest Hotel, which houses asylum seekers in Saggart, west Dublin.

Police were attacked with glass bottles, bricks and fireworks, and a police vehicle was set on fire just outside the hotel.

Many of the protesters were holding Irish flags and placards featuring anti-immigrant messages, according to local media coverage.

The demonstrations took place following reports that a 26-year-old asylum seeker had sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl on the hotel's grounds.

The man — who has not been identified and whose ethnicity is unknown — was charged on Tuesday in connection with the assault, local media reported.

Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin condemned the attacks on police officers.

"There can be no justification for the vile abuse against them, or the attempted assaults and attacks on members of the force that will shock all right-thinking people," he said.

"I pay tribute to the frontline gardaí (Irish police) who acted courageously and quickly to restore order."

The young girl who was allegedly attacked had been in state care and had "absconded" during a trip to the city centre, according to Tusla, the country's child and family agency.

Martin told parliament on Tuesday that he recognised the "concern, anger and worry of many people" over the incident.

"Clearly, there has been failure here in terms of the state’s obligation to protect this child," he said.

Tuesday's violence came nearly two years after a major riot in the centre of Dublin, which followed the stabbing of three children outside a school. Rumours had circulated that the suspected attacker was a migrant.

There has been a rise in demonstrations against immigrants and refugees in Ireland in recent years — including arson attacks on asylum-seeker accommodation — with protesters complaining about violent crime rates and a lack of housing.

Across the country, a recent trend has emerged of Irish tricolour flags being flown from lamposts.

Right-wing groups are reportedly behind the campaign, which echoes similar displays of the red and white St George's Cross in England.

Supporters say that the flags are a display of patriotism, yet others fear they show growing anti-immigration sentiment.