Massive increase in racism reported

THE Immigrant Council of Ireland has reported a 114 per cent increase in reports of racism in the first six months of the year.

During the period, the [email protected] service recorded 137 cases, an increase from 64 for the same period in 2013.

Most incidents were reported at work and in the home, with verbal abuse the most common form – although almost 1-in-10 cases did involve physical violence.

The figures were confirmed as the Immigrant Council of Ireland, the Equality Authority of Ireland, Dublin City Council and partners in public transport launched a document to ensure passengers and staff can travel on Dublin Bus, Irish Rail and Luas in the knowledge that racism will not be tolerated.

Speaking at the launch of

‘Towards an Inclusive Public Transport Service in Ireland’, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Christy Burke said:

“Migration is our future. Diversity Advantage is vital to the success of our city and its development.

“The Anti-Racism Toolkit is a core partnership project that makes a clear statement across our city that we do not accept any form of discrimination and will be a great asset in developing Intercultural understanding.

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Denise Charlton, chief executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, said:

“We are very grateful to our public transport partners who have, over the past two years, worked with us on awareness campaigns to assure victims of racism that they have nothing to fear in coming forward.

“We move to the next stage of that partnership with the publication of

‘Towards an Inclusive Public Transport Service in Ireland’ which will ensure that staff are trained to respond to incidents and that proper reporting procedures are in place.

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Ms Charlton added:

“The figures we have confirmed for the first six months of the year, while again very worrying, do show that victims are feeling more confident in coming forward – and that is thanks to all who have placed this issue on the public, media and political agenda.

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