Winding up of integration groups makes policy weaker

GOVERNMENT integration policy has been "effectively emasculated" with the winding up of two bodies set up to tackle racism and promote interculturalism, the chairwoman of the National Action Plan Against Racism (NPAR) has said.

Speaking yesterday at the Metro ÉireannMedia and Multicultural Awards, Lucy Gaffney said the absence of these bodies will "leave a void at the heart of the Government's efforts in tackling racism" and undermines "our ability to respond to the needs of the new society".

It was announced in the Budget that State funding of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) is to cease and that some of its functions are to be absorbed by the office of Minister for Integration Conor Lenihan.

The NPAR's four-year term finishes at the end of this year. Ms Gaffney appealed to Mr Lenihan, who presented many of the awards at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin yesterday afternoon, to ensure the effort put into integrating those who helped to build the economy was also put in to protecting them when times were not as good.

Phillip Watt, chairman of the NCCRI, was presented with a special judges' award. He said both recession and integration were challenges that lay ahead.

"We need to redouble our efforts to tackle racism in Ireland," he said as he called on Mr Lenihan to develop a new action plan against racism.

Businessman Denis O'Brien, who is chairman of one of the award's sponsors, the Iris O'Brien Foundation, also appealed to Mr Lenihan. "We really need more action," Mr O'Brien said, adding that it would cost more to fix these problems than to ensure they were not created in the first place.

Mr Lenihan hoped that "with the downturn, people don't project anxieties about the economy towards vulnerable immigrants," as took place in other European countries during slowdowns.

He insisted the issue of integration would continue to be dealt with in a professional way and said he would announce a new body to incorporate the work of the NPAR before Christmas.

"The creation of a new ministry means it is my job rather than other groups' jobs to counter and fight racism and to pursue the valuable work of integrating minority communities into the mainstream," Mr Lenihan said in advance of the awards.

The Government cuts are "very short-sighted" and "may create social inequality in the future that will take a hell of a lot more money to fix than the Budget cut," Ms Gaffney said as she presented an award.

Mr O'Brien also criticised Mr Lenihan over an opinion piece in The Irish Timesabout the abolition of the NCCRI and NPAR.

"I was very disturbed to read an article in The Irish Timescriticising the work of NPAR.

"Clearly there are background briefings going on from some forces within Government and obviously the journalist is, she is, being fed this and has to write the article.

"But at the end of the day it is an appalling way to treat people that are on the committee of NPAR of the work that they are doing is to be critical in a backhand sort of way and this has to stop and hopefully it will never happen again," Mr O'Brien said.

The NCCRI, which employs 13 people, has played a prominent role in advising governmental and other bodies, recording racist incidents and researching immigration and social integration.

Immigrant and voluntary groups have strongly criticised the Government's decision to withdraw funding from the NCCRI.