Government unveils plan to stamp out racism

The Government has launched a plan to stamp out racism with a commitment from the Taoiseach to "adapt policy" to suit the changes the State has undergone.

Mr Ahern, the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, and the minister of state at the Department of Justice, Mr Frank Fahey, launched the first National Action Plan Against Racism (NPAR) in Dublin this afternoon.

The launch comes only days after the NGO Alliance said the Government's policy of segregating asylum seekers and refusing them the right to work has isolated them from the rest of society and helped to foster resentment against them as "spongers", according to a report published today.

But Mr Ahern said today's launch was a "clear demonstration of the Government's commitment to adapt policy to the changing circumstances of a more diverse Ireland".

The plan has five aims: to protect against racism, to allow economic inclusion, to provide adequate services, to recognise diversity and to encourage full participation in society with a focus on politics, the media, the arts, sport and tourism.

The Minister for Justice is to set up a "strategic monitoring group" with an annual budget of €1 million to implement the plan

Speaking at the launch, Mr McDowell said it was appropriate to launch the plan on the 60 ^thanniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

He said Ireland was "to the fore in having a progressive legislative infrastructure prohibiting discrimination as provided for in the Employment Equality Act, 1998, the Equal Status Act, 2000 and the Equality Act, 2004."

"The Plan is a further important step in fostering a community that is free from discrimination and in which the emerging diversity of Irish society is fully acknowledged and accommodated in public policy making.

The proposal for the National Action Plan Against Racism arose from the UN World Conference Against Racism in South Africa in 2001, where each member state of the UN committed to develop and implement such a document.

The NGO Alliance - which comprises more than 40 independent non-governmental groups working in Ireland to combat racism - published a report on Tuesday criticising what it said was the Government's lack of leadership and action in challenging racism.

It said the failure to gather adequate data on racist incidents has lead to a significant underestimation of their impact on victims and society in general.

It claimed Government policies have led to increased racism and that official statements reinforced the view that many migrants were bogus asylum-seekers or on a "citizenship shopping trip".

"The Government not only fails to acknowledge the seriousness of racism in Ireland today, but on occasion seeks to deny its existence," the report said.

"The Government's failure to show political leadership in the fight against racism in Ireland is a major cause of concern to the NGO Alliance," it added.

The 2002 census shows that UK and EU nationals are the most significant non-national group living in the Republic, accounting for 3.4 per cent of the population. People of Asian origin account for 0.5 per cent of the population, African (0.5 per cent) and non-EU Europeans (0.5 per cent).

Travellers are the largest indigenous minority in the State, with approximately 24,000 people, representing 0.6 per cent of the population.