Protesters against deportations heckled Minister for Justice Michael McDowell yesterday at the launch of a multicultural magazine.
Members of Residents against Racism shouted "Shame, Shame" as the Minister arrived and followed him into the launch venue.
The Minister was introducing the multicultural magazine Metro Éireann for 2006, its third annual edition, which deals with issues facing Ireland in a diverse society.
As the Minister went to speak there was heckling from protesters. Mr McDowell began: "Ireland is a tolerant society and everybody is entitled to speak."
He said some people were intolerant and did not believe in free speech.
Ireland was changing in a very positive way, he said. "We have to be conscious of the fact that those changes are going to provide political and social challenges."
Unlike other European countries, Ireland did not have a political party organised on an issue of immigration policy. There was a happy consensus across all political parties and people did not want it made into a party political issue, he said.
A programme of integration measures costing €5 million had been put together.
He said it was a great pleasure to be there to salute Chinedu Onyejelem, the editor, for what he had done with Metro Éireann. Mr McDowell said the publication was mapping the way forward to a more open, tolerant, multicultural Ireland.
Mr Onyejelem said Metro Éireann believed the only way to achieve a multicultural society was by creating dialogue between Irish people and immigrants.
When the launch was over, the group of protesters surrounded the Minister and tried to put their cases to him. Among them was nine-year-old George Dimbo, who was born in Cork of Nigerian parents, Isi and Ethelbert Dimbo, who are in danger of deportation. George and his mother, Isi Dimbo, spoke to the Minister. Afterwards, Ms Dimbo said he told her that they should go through the usual channels.
Group spokeswoman Rosanna Flynn said: "The Minister has torn families apart, sent women and young girls back to face possible female genital mutilation. We need an asylum system with human rights as its focus and not the Minister's version which attempts to deport as many people as possible."