- Submissions to iReport.ie jump by 30% on previous six-month period

- Racism ‘allowed to fester unchecked’

By Michaela Miller

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 21 March also marked the launch of the latest six-month report from Enar Ireland – showing the highest levels yet of recorded racism incidents.

The 246 incidents submitted to iReport.ie as noted in the new report represent a 30 per cent increase on the 190 reported in the previous period.
“We are now in a situation where multiple generations experience racism every day,” said Enar Ireland director Shane O’Curry. “My real concern is that we live in a republic where we should cherish our children equally and many people live in fear.

“It’s a real pity. Everyone deserves human rights. We need to build a movement around racism that will combat it.”
Ireland is one of the few EU member states without effective laws against hate crime, according to O’Curry.

“It is not fit for purpose in terms of catering for the diverse society which we live in,” he added. “We need to be proactive in confronting racism. It is not good enough to blame minorities for the failure of society to integrate them when such high levels of racism are allowed to fester unchecked.”
The report, authored by Dr Lucy Michael of Ulster University, also shows that half of all alleged victims are Irish citizens, which Enar Ireland says “demonstrates the intergenerational and embedded nature of racism against minorities in Ireland”.

“The report clearly shows that we in Ireland are not immune to the Brexit and Trump effects,” said O’Curry. “When racist violence and dehumanising attitudes against minorities are not treated seriously, hate speech from overseas finds fertile ground in Ireland.”