The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) has called on the new Government to commit to the elimination of racial discrimination and ensure that the promotion of equal opportunity regardless of ethnicity is at the centre of future policy decisions.

In a new report, the IHREC said that racism needed to be recognized as a “structural problem across our whole society,” which in many cases resulted in “racial discrimination in employment, and the provision of services.”

The report emphasises the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement in recognising Ireland’s own issues of racism and discrimination when it comes to the Traveller community. The report says Irish people can play a pro-active role in choosing not to ignore the racism that already exists in the country.

The report also called for the need for a greater urgency in addressing hate crimes and speech in Ireland, through the means of including an effective response in the criminal law, which also addresses the hate speech perpetrated online.

Treatment of Travellers ‘a dark shadow on democracy’

The IHREC said Ireland’s treatment of Travellers, in particular, has been a dark shadow on Irish democracy for generations: “Travellers have been – and continue to be – subjected to endemic racism, at street level and from the organs of the State.

“If the invidious impact of racism on the individual and on a community could ever be doubted, one only has to consider the effects of discrimination on generations of Irish travellers, in their political representation, employment, education, health and life expectancy.

“What is important now is that we face racism and racial discrimination in our own communities, and in our own society. That we do not seek to down-play it or ignore it. And that we respond with the proper actions necessary to address structural racism in our society.”

Positive change

Following the recent welcome news of activist Eileen Flynn becoming the first female Traveller in the Oireachtas, she spoke about her agenda to bring about a positive change for underrepresented communities across Ireland. Eileen campaigns on anti-racism issues, marriage equality, housing and abortion rights.

She echoed the demands of the report, saying “I’d love to see hate crime legislation in Ireland, we do not have it. I’d like to work with those people, those who don’t fit into boxes,” she added.

Flynn said that there are many obstacles put in the way for people from underrepresented communities, and the election of people like her provides an opportunity to be “a voice for equality.”

Recommendations

The IHREC outlined more than 150 recommendations for policy changes across health, housing, education, employment and other sectors to address the issue of racism against members of the Travelling community to better help build an inclusive society.

Monday (29th June) marked the 20th anniversary of the Race Equality Directive, under which EU Member States, including Ireland, committed to implementing a legal framework to eliminate racial and ethnic discrimination in policy and practice. But there is still a long way to go to achieve that goal.

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