More than 20 per cent of the Equality Authority's case-load under the Employment Equality Act relates to cases brought for discrimination against Travellers, or on account of race, Mr Niall Crowley, chief executive of the Equality Authority, said yesterday.

Speaking after an anti-racism seminar organised by IBEC, Mr Crowley said that apart from the effects on the individuals involved, racism was also bad for business because it impacted on the bottom line.

"If you have a racist work environment, it's very bad for productivity because it destroys morale and motivation," he said.

With the emergence of a multi-cultural workforce, it was essential that employers take a leadership role in ensuring that anti-racism did not take place in the workplace, said IBEC's director of social policy, Ms Jackie Harrison.

Mr Crowley said that business could take the lead in educating the wider society in anti-racism measures. "With the level of racism in Irish society at the moment, we need the workplace to be a formative influence in terms of anti-racism and we need a more ambitious approach rather than just a preventative approach. That goes beyond just making sure that discrimination doesn't happen, to making sure that the workplace is a place where cultural diversity can be accommodated," he said.

Welcoming the hosting of the seminar, the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, told employers: "This initiative in tackling racism in the workplace is a crucial component in developing our national strategy in this area. It may be that we are facing into a period of slower growth in the economy. If this is the case, then pressures may develop which could be manifested in the workplace. Your training programmes and promotion of examples of good practice are the way forward."

The objective of the seminar was to provide up-to-date information on best practice for Irish employers and considered a range of approaches employers could take in addressing racism.