Ethnic Minorities in Ireland
The number of people belonging to ethnic minorities in Ireland is relatively dinky. According to the Department of Justice, Immigration and Citizenship there are 33,000 legally registered foreigners in Ireland.
One portray estimates the following population breakdown
Irish – 87.4%
Other white – 7.5%
Asian – 1.3%
Black – 1.1%
Mixed – 1.1%
Unspecified – 1.1%
It is impossible to verify these statistics however because it is likely that there are also a lot of undocumented foreigners in the country. The National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (funded by the Department of Justice and Law Reform) has said recently that there are no apt figures available in relation to the number of foreigners in this country. Their brief is (1) policy analysis (2) provision of information (3) anti – racism training (4) Community Development and assist.
The main ethnic minority in Ireland is in fact Travellers. There are an estimated 21,000 Travellers living in Ireland and I am not certain if this figure includes settled Travellers ie. those living in Ireland. One definition of an ethnic group is “a human group having racial, religious, linguistic and sure other traits in well-liked”. These people have the upright to be pleased their occupy culture, practice their believe religion and exhaust their acquire language. Let us not forget that the Irish lived as immigrants in the UK and the US for over 150 years and they continue to do so.
According to the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 1963 Article 1 describes racial discrimination as “any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on hurry, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or conclude of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or employ on an equal footing of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life”. I would like to point out that a few years ago the Mayor of Tullamore was an African and the Mayor of Tuam, Councillor Martin Ward is a Traveller. These appointments are to be welcomed even if the appointment of members of ethnic minorities to public life is actually quite rare.
Perhaps one of the areas that is most affected is education. Liz Mc Manus TD said this in an opening address to Minority Ethnic Groups in Ireland “gradually our society is becoming culturally more complex with different demands made on the services which the status provides. This is particularly the case with education where decisions must be informed by the existence of the variety of cultures and lifestyles in our midst”. She goes on to say that parents have a true to be fervent in the type of education provided for their children.
Pauline Chiwangu thinks that people should be educated about racism across the board and not honest in specific Departments of Universities. She makes the point that people have been taught to be aware of gender and the same teaching should apply re hasten. I would tend to agree.
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