DISCRIMINATION AGAINST TRAVELLERS and asylum seekers in Ireland has been criticised in a report by the Irish Human Rights Commission.

In the report published today – Human Rights Day – IHRC said that racism was a growing problem in Ireland and criticised plans to reduce services for asylum seekers in the Budget.

Read the IHRC report

IHRC said that more protection needed to be given to asylum seekers, migrant workers, Travellers and human trafficking victims. He also laid criticism on the government for not recognising Travellers as an ethic minority who needed to have protection afforded to their culture and identity.

The report states that a number of NGOs working with victims of human trafficking have expressed concern that, in some instances, the gardaí require potential victims to provide detailed information before the recovery and reflection period of 60 days is complete.

The report also highlights the fact that 98 per cent of all schools in Ireland run under religious patronage, and calls for legislative change to encourage religious minorities and atheists to become teachers.

IHRC President Dr Maurice Manning said that since last Ireland reported on its human rights record, “the equality infrastructure that worked to promote multiculturalism and combat racism had been either disbanded or disabled”. He pointed particularly to the requirement for foreign nationals to carry identification documents, which he says could lead to discriminatory treatment.

The IHRC report has been sent to a UN committee.