The Tanaiste says he has no issue with people protesting over the visit of US President Donald Trump to Ireland in November.
The White House announced plans for Trump's visit last week as part of a European tour that will also see the US President travel to Paris.
News of the visit was immediately met by calls for protests by opposition parties and activists.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan called on people to "to show their disgust and rejection Trump's policies" - while People Before Profit also said it will be part of the demonstrations.
TD Richard Boyd Barrett says the protests will be 'a very broad coalition of people standing in solidarity against Trump's policies'.
The Tanaiste says he has no issue with people protesting the visit, but he's urging people to respect the office of the US President.
President Trump will visit Ireland in November. The US President is always welcome in Ireland. Our two countries have such strong historic, economic, cultural and family ties. Maintaining those connections is always a top priority 🇺🇸🇮🇪🇪🇺
— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) August 31, 2018
Speaking to Cork's 96 FM Simon Coveney says facilitating a visit is not an endorsement of his views: 'The relationship between Ireland and the US goes way beyond the individual personalities of US Presidents or Taoisigh, so we'll facilitate the visit but that doesn't mean we support the policies of an individual president, in this case, President Trump'.
The White House says the Irish visit will 'renew the deep and historic ties between our two nations.'
