State policies fuelling racism crisis

THE Government is ignoring the growing racism problem and its own policies are adding to the crisis, according to a damning report which has been sent to the United Nations.

The document, compiled by 40 Irish non-governmental organisations (NGOs), said anti-racism funding had been cut while the number of racist incidents had increased.

The dossier will be studied by the powerful UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The committee will question Irish Government representatives on the report, and the Government’s own report, submitted last year, in March.

The report - by the NGO Alliance - found:

The Government refuses to accept the seriousness of racism.

It sometimes denies its existence.

Government policies have fuelled the problem.

The Government’s refusal to recognise Travellers as an ethnic group denies them protection under the UN Convention.

Anti-racism funding has been seriously cut.

Racism and ethnic hostility has increased.

“The Government not only fails to acknowledge the seriousness of racism in Ireland today, but on occasion seeks to deny its existence,” said the report. “In addition, policies it has introduced have acted to increase racism, and statements it has made have reinforced the perception that many migrants are ‘bogus’ asylum seekers or are here for ‘citizenship shopping’.”

The Government’s failure to show political leadership in the fight against racism was “a major cause of concern.”

The report said the Government had still not carried out a long-promised review of the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act.

The Government had also failed to gather adequate data on racist incidents.

It said 20% of garda ethnic liaison officers were also immigration officers and there was “a major lack” of anti-racism training in the force.

Irish-born children of non-nationals were liable to be removed from the State with their parents following a change in Irish law, enshrined in the Citizenship Referendum.

The NGO report said the State’s two key anti-discrimination agencies, the Equality Authority and the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) had its funding cut.

The report said Government policies of dispersal and direct provision acted to segregate asylum seekers from the community.

A Justice Department spokeswoman yesterday said its report to CERD had set out the State’s anti-racism framework - including the Equality Authority, the Equality Tribunal, the NCCRI, the Human Rights Commission and the Garda Racial Office.

She added: “The Government will shortly launch the National Action Plan Against Racism, which will provide strategic direction to combat racism into the future.”