A court has awarded £20,000 to an Irish Traveller family unlawfully discriminated against and asked to leave a Belfast restaurant on grounds of race.
Patrick Joyce, his wife and two adult children went to Cuisine Buffet Ltd, York Street Belfast in October last year.
After taking their seats the family was told to leave the restaurant.
The staff accepted the family had not caused any difficulty but insisted they leave due to alleged previous incidents involving members of the Travelling community.
Mr Joyce said his family was upset and embarrassed by the episode.
"We were looking forward to our first dinner as a family, after a very difficult time for us following the death of two of my sons, instead we were made to leave the restaurant.
"We tried to reason with the manager, but it was very clear to us that Travellers were not welcome.
'Second class citizens'
"My late mother Nan fought for years to improve rights for Travellers, but sadly, being treated like second class citizens is not a new experience for us. We just want it to stop."
Cuisine Buffet Ltd did not defend the case in court and was ordered to pay compensation of £5,000 to each of the Joyce family members.
The case was supported by Northern Ireland's Equality Commission.
Its head of Legal Services Eoin O'Neill said the ruling was a reminder that discrimination based on a person's racial background is unacceptable and unlawful.
"What happened to the Joyce family was distressing and humiliating and, as importantly, it is against the law. Irish Travellers are protected by the Race Relations (NI) Order 1997.
"The court found that the Joyce family were victims of discrimination because of their race.
"The restaurant's refusal to allow them to remain in the establishment re-enforces racial stereotypes. It is important that this prejudice was challenged through our legal system," Mr O'Neill said.
