Ireland’s police chief says 34 people have been arrested over rioting in Dublin which saw stores looted and public transport burnt out. 

Police Commissioner Drew Harris told reporters Friday local time 32 of the rioters arrested will appear before the courts that morning.

Earlier, police had blamed far-right agitators for starting the violence after a small group of anti-immigrant protesters arrived at the scene of a stabbing attack in the capital. 

Five people, including three young children and the suspect, were injured in the knife attack in central Dublin.

A double-decker bus, tram and police car were burned out, public transport shut down and people urged to stay away from large parts of the city during the riot.

“Those involved brought shame on Dublin, brought shame on Ireland and brought shame on their families and themselves,” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told a news conference.

It took officers several hours to regain control after the crowd grew to around 200 to 300 people.

“Some of my colleagues were also attacked and assaulted. Thankfully there were no serious reports of injury.”

Dublin Fire Brigade said firefighters continued to damp down a smouldering tram Friday morning and make the scene safe.

Public transport resumed, but with restrictions in the area.

Police also stood guard outside a store with broken windows that was looted during the riot.

The front of a hotel that was also targeted was boarded up.

A five-year-old girl was receiving emergency treatment after sustaining serious injuries in the stabbing.

A man in his late 40s, also being treated for serious injuries, was arrested by police who said they were not looking for any other suspect.

Police have not commented on the nationality of the detained man but there was immediate speculation online that he was foreign.

Mr Varadkar said his government would take immediate steps to tighten anti-hate legislation he said was unfit for the social media age.

“As a country we need to reclaim Ireland. We need to take it away from the cowerers who hide behind masks and try to terrify us with their violence,” he said.

“We need to reclaim Ireland from the unscrupulous who prey on the fears of those easily led into darkness. And we need to reclaim Ireland from the criminals who seek any excuse to unleash horror on our streets.

“We will pass new laws in the coming weeks to enable the Gardai (police) to make better use of the CCTV evidence they collected yesterday, and also we will modernise our laws against incitement to hatred and hatred in general.

“I think it’s now very obvious to anyone who might have doubted us that our incitement to hatred legislation is just not up to date. It’s not up to date for the social media age. And we need that legislation through within a matter of weeks.”

The attack was condemned across all political parties, including the main opposition Sinn Fein.

Reuters