Immigrants are entitled to the same standards of safety and social protection as any member of society, a senior clergyman said today.
During a mass at the Pro-Cathedral in the capital, the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said he hoped people from Bulgaria and Romania, the latest states to join the EU, would be welcomed with the same equality as citizens of other states.
As he marked the Feast of the Epiphany with a multicultural ceremony, Dr Martin said: "This morning's festive Mass is a sign of the efforts of the Catholic Church in Dublin to treasure and celebrate the richness of our new ethnic mixture in Ireland.
"The Catholic Church here in Dublin welcomes those who have come to our shores in recent years, wherever you trace your origins, for whatever length of time you will be here in Dublin."
Members of the Polish, Romanian, Brazilian, Indian, Latvian and Nigerian communities who have made the city their home attended The Festival of Peoples service.
The Mass at 11am, which also marks the end of Christmas, featured a colourful blend of music and traditions from around the world.
Thousands visited the cathedral over the Christmas season, with Christmas Eve Mass being the best attended event there in two decades.