Report seeks new dept to oversee equality and human rights

The Irish Centre for Human Rights and Amnesty International are calling for the Department of Justice and Equality to be split into two separate ministries.

The call is contained in a report published by the two groups today to mark International Day Against Racism.

The report says ethnic minorities face major discrimination in accessing a range of services across the education system, the health services and within the Department of Justice.

It also accuses the Government of failing to acknowledge the existence of racism in Irish laws, policies and institutional practices and says equality legislation needs to be strengthened in order to rectify the situation.

The report recommends that responsibility for equality and human rights should be removed from the Department of Justice due to a potential conflict between such issues and the maintenance of law and order.