THE Garda has been accused of peddling hate against the travelling community by singling out members of that community as suspects in the vicious attacks on the elderly across rural Ireland.
Groups representing the travelling community have condemned Garda accusations, which they say are creating a climate of suspicion and hate that could result in violence against innocent people.
"If one human being attacks' another, it does not matter what the colour of that person's skin is community he is from issue is that serious crimes are being committed and that all over Ireland, travellers settled people alike are living in terror as a result of those crimes," according to Mr Michael McDonagh, of the Irish Traveller Movement (ITM).
"The crimes are horrific and those responsible have to be apprehended and dealt with severely, whoever they are. But by fingering travellers, whether those responsible are or not, you are blaming a whole community for those attacks. An atmosphere of suspicion and fear is being created, which in the past has resulted in attacks on people for no other reason than the fact they are travellers."
The gardai, he said, needed all the support they could get in tracing those responsible for the recent spate of crimes in rural areas. "To suggest that travellers are a tight knit community who will protect their own is wrong. Nobody will protect someone responsible for crimes so horrific.
"There are also old and vulnerable people in our community. We rear families and like everyone else do not want to rear them into a society where this kind of thing happens," he said. "But it is dangerous to single out a community. It gives a mandate to blame the innocent."
The Dublin Travellers Education and Development Group (DTEDG) is, training people in mediation skills to sort out problems between travelling and settled communities.
The group of 24 is made up of both travellers and nettled people. But efforts to build up trust between communities is being hampered by recent accusations, according to Mr Gearoid O Riain, of the DTEDG.
"If the gardai know who are committing these crimes, then they should arrest those responsible, charge them and bring them to justice. If they do not know who is responsible they should not take the easy option of blaming the travelling community, and pushing the door on settled people's prejudices a door that is too easily opened," he said.
"It is easy to whip up hate and to build on prejudices which already exist. If at the end of the day, travellers are not involved it will be much more difficult to undo the damage," he said
"The recent statements are causing us great concern. The number of attacks on travellers by members of the settled community has increased in recent years, the attacks in Bantry Wicklow and Glenamaddy are examples. If a traveller approaches a house in a rural area in future, and owner of that house has a gun, will they shoot first and ask questions later? This atmosphere creates situations like that."
The media coverage of recent murders and attacks on elderly people in the west and midlands has created fears among travellers throughout the country of attacks and reprisals from individuals or groups, the ITM said last night.
In a statement condemning the recent attacks, the ITM said travellers abhorred those crimes and hoped the authorities succeeded in bringing the perpetrators to justice soon. However, the movement urged the media and the gardai to be more sensitive in the identification of suspects.
"While it is not known whether or not travellers are involved ink these terrible crimes, the type of reporting we have seen in the last couple of days has created fears among travellers.
"The ITM feels that the naming of suspects ethnic or social origins are irrelevant to the reporting of these crimes and would urge the media to be aware of the consequence of this type of reporting," it said.
The statement went on to urge anyone, no matter what section of society they are from, who may have information on these crimes to assist the gardai.
It added its voice to calls from other organisations for immediate action to to deal with the current level of crime in the country, from which no section of the community was immune.