Gardai in Wexford have dismissed alarming suggestions that asylum-seekers in the area are in danger of being attacked by gangs of local youths.
Newspaper reports of a study being carried out by a Waterford Institute of Technology sociologist, Mr Shane Dunphy, had claimed there was an American-style gang in Wexford which was attacking asylum-seekers and refugees.
Mr Dunphy has since said his findings, based on contacts he made with about 10 groups of young people in the south-east, were "blown out of proportion".
He had simply warned that some groups could, in the future, develop a "gang culture" such as existed in the US unless there was a more concerted effort to give them a sense of belonging to society.
He said that while the groups would have had "some form of semi-formalised structure", not all would have considered themselves "gangs", which was a sociological term.
Supt Jim Keogh said there was no evidence of a gang culture developing in the area. He also confirmed there had been no reports of attacks on asylum-seekers by groups of young people, as reported.
Voluntary workers who have been in regular contact with asylum-seekers in the area have also said they are not aware of any such attacks.