Ireland's first national action plan on racism will help the country's transition towards a modern and multicultural society, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said yesterday.
The strategy, Planning for Diversity, aims to protect minorities against racism, accommodate diversity in health and education services and allow all minority groups to participate fully in society.
The national action plan is the result of commitments made to the UN and national social partnership agreements.
Under the plan, government Departments and local authorities will be obliged to adapt their services and policies to accommodate minority groups.
They will be implemented over the coming months and will be overseen by a monitoring group with an annual budget of €1 million. Further resources will be provided by Government Departments and State agencies.
Targets and aims set out in the 150-page strategy include:
An independent body to monitor racially motivated incidents
Concrete measures for identifying and eliminating institutional racism in public bodies
Effective legislation on anti-racism, including reform of the Prohibition on Incitement to Hatred Act
Improving provision for the teaching of English as a second language
Ensuring elections are conducted in a manner that does not contribute to racism.
The action plan is the result of a 12-month consultation process and commitments made to the UN and national social partnership agreements.
As well as promoting a more diverse society, the strategy also notes that actions arising from the strategy could help Irish business, enhance the country's international reputation and boost social cohesion.
Official figures show the country has undergone rapid cultural change, with non-nationals accounting for around 5 per cent of the population, according to the latest census statistics.
New figures also show that,since the accession of the 10 new EU states last year, 50,000 workers have arrived into the State from these countries.
Announcing the strategy, Mr Ahern said it was a clear demonstration of the Government's commitment to adapt policy to the changing circumstances of a more diverse Ireland.
The Minister for Justice said accommodating diversity was vital in fostering a community free of discrimination.
"We must ensure that our society does not indulge in baseless prejudice but rather promotes the need to maintain communities where we can live in harmony with our neighbours and take full advantage of the many opportunities diversity brings," Mr McDowell said.
The country, he added, had benefited from the absence of race politics as a result of the Government being "direct and truthful" regarding immigration issues.
Garda statistics on racially-motivated crimes were an indicator of whether racism had become a major problem in society. Figures show these crimes dropped from 102 in 2002 to 48 last year.
However, the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism, which records figures on racially motivated incidents, recorded an increase over this period.