45% of survey respondents experience racist discrimination

The fact that almost one in every two people surveyed about racism in Cork had experienced discrimination is very disappointing, according to an immigrant support group.

Fiona Finn, chief executive of Nasc, the Irish immigrant support centre in Cork, said the results of a survey it had commissioned were a cause for concern. Some 45 per cent of those surveyed reported experiencing discrimination in at least one area of their everyday life.

The survey of 171 people, comprising 60 per cent immigrants and 40 per cent Irish people, also found that 55 per cent of respondents believed racism was an issue in Cork.

Ms Finn said: “We’re most particularly concerned about the black African community – their perceptions and experience of racism come out much higher than the other migrant communities.

“And one of the most striking things is that eight out of 10 people who have experienced racist incidents haven’t reported [them] and that points to a systemic failure within the system.

“I think it shows there’s an issue [with] how people in the ethnic communities interact with law enforcement – very often their only interaction with the Garda is in an immigration context.”