Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs Ms Liz O’Donnell today called for a new impetus to tackle racism.
Speaking at the launch of Responding to Racism in Ireland- a collection of studies by journalists, academics and non-governmental organisations - Ms O'Donnell said protection of the right to be free from racial discrimination is a Government priority.
"Sadly racism and the brazen expression of intolerance is now all too common and, like all prejudice, if not confronted tends to be normalised," said Ms O’Donnell.
She referred to reports of racist abuse in the book, saying the incidents described were neither isolated nor unusual cases.
"Who could not be ashamed by the descriptions of racist abuse described in Dr Jean Pierre Eyanga’s contribution to this book?" she asked.
Although she acknowledged individual acts of kindness shown by Irish people to refugees, Travellers and other minorities, Ms O’Donnell criticised intolerance towards strangers and the development of "a narrow and insular nationalism" in Irish society.
Ms O’Donnell’s comments came after yesterday’s publication of a survey of ethnic minority attitudes to racism by Amnesty that reported the vast majority of respondents had experienced racism from the public.
The survey, Racism in Ireland: The Views of Black and Ethnic Minorities, was done by FAQs research in association with Dr Steven Loyal and Dr Aogán Mulcahy of University College Dublin for Amnesty International's Irish Section in June and July 2001.