Taoiseach Micheál Martin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have called for calm after discussing the violence in Northern Ireland in a phone call.
Both stressed “that violence is unacceptable and said “the way forward is through dialogue and working the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement”.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said the violence “needs to stop before someone is killed.”
Ministers in Leinster House have condemned the “shocking” unrest witnessed on the streets in Belfast as youths flung petrol bombs across peace walls and set a bus on fire.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said leaders on all sides need to work together to “defuse tensions and restore calm.”
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said “now is the time for real leadership” and insisted “we are not going back to the dark days. Enough is enough.”
The violence has escalated in recent days following DUP leader and First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster called for the resignation of the Chief Constable Simon Byrne after the Public Prosecution Service announced it would not pursue prosecutions over those who attended the Storey funeral - including Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill.
However, tension had been bubbling in recent weeks in loyalist communities over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Mr Coveney described Wednesday night's scenes in Belfast as "shocking.” and said on Saturday we are recognising 23 years of one of the most resilient peace processes anywhere in the world - The Good Friday Agreement.
He said: "This is a time of real tension in Northern Ireland, unfortunately, that political leaders and community leaders need to respond to, like they have done in the past, to defuse tensions and come together rather than have a go at each other.
"We face really difficult challenges at the moment for all sorts of reasons.
“The Irish Government will do their part.
"To see attempts to incite a response at an interface area to try to spread the violence beyond the loyalist community into the nationalist community is worrying.
"This needs to stop before someone is killed or very seriously injured.
“A lot of people have responsibilities to try to work to defuse tensions and that needs to start at the top, at a political level."
