US report highlights Ireland's discrimination towards Travellers

Travellers and other minority groups are suffering social injustice and racial violence, according to a report on human rights. By Emma Browne

According to a US report on Ireland's human rights record, there were anti-Semitic attacks in Ireland and discrimination against Travellers, immigrants and women, as well as racial attacks against immigrants and ethnic minorities in 2005.

The US Department of State annually compiles Country reports on Human Rights Practices in 196 countries. The 2005 report on Ireland has just been released.

Many of the concerns raised in the report deal with racial discrimination towards minorities, in particular Travellers. The report says: "Travellers faced societal discrimination and regularly were denied access to premises, goods, facilities, and services... Travellers frequently experienced difficulties enrolling their children in school... approximately 1,200 lived on roadsides or on temporary sites without electricity or sanitary facilities. Many Travellers depended on social welfare for survival and were unable to participate in the mainstream economy because of discrimination and a lack of education."

The report also highlights our treatment of immigrants and ethnic groups. It said societal discrimination and racial violence against immigrants and ethnic minorities continued to be a problem. There were a series of anti-Semitic attacks which included repeated vandalising of synagogues and a Jewish museum. It also said that there were inequalities regarding the pay and promotions in the public and private sector in relation to women. And, women were underrepresented in senior management positions.

Other issues raised by the report were the poor sanitary and work conditions in some prisons, and the condemnation of the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum by human rights groups; reports of abuse by police officers; anecdotal evidence that women were trafficked into Ireland for sexual exploitation and that some women were trafficked within the country; and that the national minimum wage does not provide for a decent standard of living for a worker and a family.