(Image: Caroline Reid)

A PROTEST OUTSIDE the Dáil today, organised by a number of groups, called for an end to State racism and expressed solidarity with the Roma community.

Today, anti-racism group ENAR Ireland said that “families and individuals are subjected to ethnic or racial profiling on a daily basis; singled out, targeted or treated differently because of how they look or how they are perceived”.

In response to recent incidents of children being taken from Roma families by gardaí, the organisation said those attending the protest today were asking for a ban on the practice of ethnic profiling and for proper measures to be put in place to monitor and prevent institutional racism.

“The Irish government says that its actions aren’t racist,” said Luke Bukha Kasuwanga of the Anti Racism Network. “But the experiences of people from minority groups tell a different story. The recent removal of Roma children from their families is one clear example. We believe this is only the tip of the iceberg.”

Shane O’Curry of ENAR Ireland said that the organisation’s online racist incident reporting system has seen increased reports of racism against Roma in Ireland in recent weeks.

“At the same time we are receiving a significant number of complaints about racism involving gardaí and other institutions,” he said.

A police force must have measures in place to ensure that it does not allow racism in its ranks, or practises that are racist in their effect. What happened to the Roma families in Tallaght and Athlone would not have happened to white settled families.

“When a system fails to stop things like this happening then that is institutional racism,” he added.