Fine Gael has called on the Government to declare a national public holiday to celebrate the "diversity of today's multicultural Ireland".
The party's spokesman on social and community affairs, Mr Brian Hayes, said such a symbolic gesture would help send strong, positive messages on race relations and would help prevent the development of racist sentiment.
"Such a festival would provide an appropriate occasion for opinion formers and the general public to affirm community solidarity," Mr Hayes said. "Celebrating the diversity of Ireland in a festive and joyful occasion would be both a symbolic and a real expression of the values we need to encourage in the new Ireland."
Strong and effective leadership was needed from all levels of society in order to prevent the "cancer of racism" affecting this country, he said.
"Until relatively recently, Ireland was an insular, largely homogenous society. It is now rapidly evolving into a diverse, multicultural, exciting place to live."
Effective strategies needed to be put in place to help prevent the development of racial tensions, similar to those which had surfaced in Britain and the US.