A Fine Gael by-election candidate has got herself in hot water over comments about the need for some asylum seekers coming to Ireland to be “deprogrammed.”

Verona Murphy, a candidate in the Wexford by-election on November 29 said some of these people “carry angst” and may have been “infiltrated by ISIS”.

Ms Murphy told RTÉ’s This Week programme that she believes there are problems with the Direct Provision services and asylum seekers should not be accommodated where support services are not readily available.

She specifically referred to a recent campaign against a planned centre in Oughterard, Co Galway. “I believe there are issues with the Direct Provision, and I believe that the people of Oughterard were absolutely justified because they hadn’t been given enough information,” Ms Murphy said.

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“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,” she continued.

“They carry angst that you wouldn’t ordinarily see, possibly infiltrated by ISIS and we have to protect ourselves against that. There are support services available, but they have to be available as much as the accommodation.” 

“Do not house those people where those support services are not readily available,” she added.

Fianna Fáil’s Wexford by-election candidate Malcolm Byrne said some fears of migrants related to concerns about scarce housing being further depleted.

“If we are able to provide homes for all of our citizens…then I don’t believe a lot of the scaremongering about immigration will gain any traction,” Mr Byrne said.

In a statement this evening, Ms Murphy apologised for the comments made on RTE’s This Week.

“This was a very poor choice of words and I am very sorry to anyone who was offended by them,” she said.

“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.

“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 Fine Gael spokesperson added :”Immigration enriches our country socially, culturally and economically.

“It is a strength that we are now one of the most diverse countries in the EU, with 17pc of the population born outside Ireland.  It is a strength that our workforce is the third most international in Europe and that we are a place where people want to live and work.

“We committed the Irish Naval Service to the Mediterranean to disrupt human trafficking and rescue people at sea, and are willing to do so again in the future.

“We have prioritised improvements to direct provision and rights for asylum seekers in line with the McMahon report, including the right to work along with improved access to education, health services,  transport and better community integration.

“Under Fine Gael we’ve made it easier to become a citizen. 120,000 people have become citizens since 2011 which is wonderful.

“Consideration is also being given to some form of incentive to encourage parties to run more candidates from ethnic minorities.”

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