Gardaí are investigating a racist website, based in Britain, which urges Ireland to remain "white forever".
Gardaí are investigating and trying to track down the people behind the racist website. However, this is proving challenging as legislation on the matter varies from country to country.
The offending website contains racist messages such as "Say No To Black Ireland" and "Keep Ireland White".
It also has a message board full of even more racist comments.
The website urges users to infiltrate the power base of groups in Ireland such as the Defence Forces and political parties and even includes links to the websites of both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Both political parties have sent solicitors letters to the website's owners, who are believed to be based in Britain. Fine Gael have secured the removal of their name from the website.
Cormac Callanan, of the Irish Internet Providers Association of Ireland, says that such websites are difficult to control as the legislation around the world varies from country to country. He points out that in the United States, the First Amendment which protects freedom of speech also serves to protect the rights of many of these organisations. In Ireland, there is no specific legislation apart from some legislation from the mid 1990s which refers to racist activity and publishing of information. Cormac Callanan says that society is trying to deal with the problem of racism throughout Europe but the laws across countries have not been rationalised.
For groups working with refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland, racist websites are an unwelcome development.
Peter O’Mahony of the Irish Refugee Council points out that there has been a significant increase in the use of websites to spread racist messages that target foreigners, refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants. Peter O’Mahony says that while there are mixed opinions on immigration, most Irish people have responded very well to the arrival of immigrants to the country.
International cooperation between police and internet watchdogs has brought some success in tackling child pornography. However, a lack of legislative consensus makes tackling racism on the internet more difficult.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 24 August 2001. The reporter is Bethan Kilfoil.
