Almost one in eight suffers discrimination in Ireland, report claims

A new report has stated that almost one in eight adults has suffered discrimination in Ireland.

Participants in the study, published today by the Economic and Social Research Institute, were surveyed in 2010.

If shows that women are more likely to be discriminated against than men, particularly in the workplace, with people aged between 45 and 64 worst affected.

The highest rates of reported discrimination were in recruitment (6%) and in the workplace (5%).

In services, discrimination was highest for accessing housing (3%) and using financial services such as banks and insurance services (2.5%).

The lowest rates were for education (just over 1%), 'other public services' (just over 1%) and transport services (0.4%).

Dr Frances McGinnity, a senior research officer at the ESRI, said that people of black ethnicity and those with a disability are more likely to report discrimination.

"Twelve per cent of the adult population experienced discrimination," she said.

"That rate is much higher for certain groups, in particular the black ethnic group report high rates of discrimination across a range of domains.

"Those with a disability also report higher rates of discrimination in many service domains."

Welcoming the report, Renee Dempsey, CEO of the Equality Authority, said: "Discrimination remains an enormous challenge to Irish society. We need to strengthen our commitment to equality in Ireland as a key element of our strategy for economic recovery."

She also highlighted that: "It remains the case that those most at risk of discrimination are least likely to know their rights. This research shows that knowing your rights makes a real difference and addressing this issue will be a particular challenge to the new Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission."