Amnesty International has called on the Government to show leadership in the fight against racism.
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The Taoiseach and various government Ministers, including the Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform, have talked of their determination to combat the problem but have failed, said director of Amnesty Ireland Mr Sean Love.
Mr Love was speaking at the launch today of Amnesty's Leadership Against Racism Campaign. "Grand speeches and public awareness campaigns are not enough," he said.
He called for new anti-racism legislation to be passed and the implementation of legislation already in place. He said the Prohibition on the Incitement to Hatred Act needed urgent review, claiming it is largely ineffective.
"Racism is taking hold. People are being abused on our streets and attacked in their homes. Is the Government waiting until we reach the levels of racist violence in other countries before it takes action?" asked Mr Love.
Mr Chinedu Onyejelem of Ireland's only multi-cultural newspaper, Metro Éireann,also urged the Government to deliver on its promises.
He called for an independent body to investigate racially motivated incidents where people can report racial abuse in confidence "without having to produce their passports".
Mr Onyejelem noted that no official statistics on racial incidents are kept by the government or gardaí. He said the only records of racist attacks are those compiled by voluntary bodies.