The reaction by Irish ministers to the migrant boat disaster in the Mediterranean Sea has been condemned by a refugee support group.

Anti-Deportation Ireland (ADI) said that statements from Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan and Minister Minister for Justice Francis Fitzgerald about the crisis, which saw between 600 and 900 people die off the coast of Libya over the weekend, are “cynically” designed to avoid culpability.

“The drownings are a chance for the European Union to make serious changes to its policies of militarised external borders,” the statement said.

“Statements from Flanagan and Fitzgerald show that they plan to reinforce the very policies that have caused thousands of deaths as people undertake dangerous sea crossings to reach Europe, ” it said.

Both ministers condemned the actions of organised crime gangs and smugglers in connection with the deaths.

ADI said that while smugglers are to be condemned, they are not the cause of the dangerous journeys people are undertaking to migrate.

Instead, the group blames the “heavy policing” of Europe’s borders and the criminalisation of asylum seekers: “If there were no borders there would be no smugglers. There would be no death.”

On Monday, Mr Flanagan said that Ireland would “play its part” in dealing with the migration crisis, describing the latest tragedy as “unacceptable”.

Ms Fitzgerald said joined Mr Flanagan in condemning the actions of smugglers and said Ireland would take in more refugees to help alleviate the crisis.

“The EU as a whole and its member states clearly need to use all law enforcement resources and tools available to tackle the organised criminal gangs involved in the smuggling and trafficking of migrants,” she said.