Ireland is set to ban protesters from wearing balaclavas during demonstrations as the country has been rocked by anti-immigration protests.

The plans will attempt to prohibit wearing masks at protests where the intention is to “intimidate” or prevent police from identifying an individual committing a crime, a spokesman for Justice Minister Helen McEntee.

However, the spokesperson continued to tell the Irish Independent that the ban would not cover face coverings worn for medical reasons or during cold weather.

Projectiles were thrown at Ireland’s Garda Síochána last month during protests at a proposed asylum seeker site in Dublin.

The ban in Ireland has sparked calls for similar action in the UK after some protesters travelled to Belfast, Northern Ireland on Saturday to take part in violent anti-migrant protests.

Riots have erupted all over the UK in response to a fatal triple stabbing in Southport last week after misinformation about the culprit was circulated online.

Commenting on the ban on X, Reform UK’s Deputy Leader Richard Tice said: “GOOD - as long as applies to everyone; only reason to wear a mask is to hide something.”

Another user on the platform said: “Ireland has banned balaclavas at demonstrations, the UK needs to go one step further and ban all face coverings at outdoor gatherings.”

A third British user said: “Any form of face covering, including balaclavas, should be banned on our streets.

“These sword and machete-wielding maniacs should be locked up for life.”

One more said: “It’s simple stuff. Balaclavas and face coverings need to be made illegal in public gatherings, anyone with a tool, weapon, or seen chucking things need to be tasered and arrested. Hard policing on all groups and imprisonment. No bias. No exceptions.”

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