The treatment by Gardaí of racist incidents has come under scrutiny in a new survey. The study, carried out on behalf of Amnesty International Ireland, shows that only 14% of those surveyed feel that racism complaints are taken seriously enough by Gardaí.
More than 600 people from ethnic minorities were interviewed for the survey. It found that four out of five participants had experienced racism while living in Ireland. Furthermore, 80% of those surveyed said that the Government was not doing enough to confront racism.
Sean Love, the Director of Amnesty International Ireland, said that Gardaí would be as concerned as Amnesty is about the survey. Mr Love added: "You have the extra component that 25% of the people surveyed actually reflected that they had experienced racism at the hands of the Garda.
"So I think that the Garda has a problematic relationship with ethnic minorities here." The survey revealed that there were 155 incidents in which people felt they had experienced racism at least once from a member of the Gardaí.
