Some 28% of people of non-white background report discrimination

People from non-white ethnic backgrounds were more than twice as likely to report that they had felt discriminated against than people from white ethnic backgrounds, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

The Quarterly National Household Survey for July to September 2014 revealed that nearly one in eight (12 per cent) of people aged 18 or over said they felt discriminated against during the previous two years.

The rate was unchanged since the previous such survey, for 2010.

The highest rates of discrimination were reported by people from non-white ethnic backgrounds (28 per cent), and unemployed people (23 per cent).

A total of 11 per cent of people from white ethnic backgrounds reported discrimination.

Some 17 per cent of non-Irish nationals said they had experienced discrimination in the preceding two years.

A total of 16 per cent of people with a disability claimed some experience of discrimination in the previous two years on one of a number of circumstances, including in the workplace, while looking for work, by financial institutions or in shops and restaurants.

Eleven per cent of those without a disability experienced some discrimination on one of the same grounds.

Work-related discrimination

A total of 7 per cent of people reported that they had experienced discrimination related to accessing services, while 6 per cent reported work-related discrimination.

Age (24 per cent) and race (21 per cent) were the two most common grounds identified by those who had experienced discrimination.

But 41 per cent of those who felt they had been discriminated against believed the ground was not one of the nine grounds included in the State’s equality legislation.

Bullying or harassment (32 per cent) and working conditions (22 per cent) were the most common issues identified in workplace discrimination, the CSO said.

Pay, at 12 per cent, was far less likely to be the focus of workplace discrimination. Just under one fifth (18 per cent) of those surveyed said they believed some other issue was the focus of the discrimination.

The highest rates of work-related discrimination were among those who were unemployed (17 per cent) or from non-white ethnic backgrounds (14 per cent).

Between 2010 and 2014, the percentage of people who believed they had been discriminated against while looking for work increased from 22 per cent to 26 per cent.

A total of 31 per cent of men believed they experienced discrimination while looking for work, compared to 22 per cent of women.

Family status

Some 14 per cent of women said they had been discriminated against on grounds of family status, compared with just 4 per cent of men.

Race/skin colour/ethnic group/nationality (28 per cent) and gender (17 per cent) were the most common grounds identified by people who experienced discrimination in the workplace.

But those who experienced discrimination while looking for work reported age (46 per cent) and race/skin colour/ethnic group/nationality (20 per cent) as the most common grounds.

Just over a quarter (26 per cent) of people indicated they had a good understanding of their rights under Irish equality legislation. Nearly one in five (19 per cent), however, said they had no understanding of their rights.

Nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of people took no action in response to their experience.