THE INCIDENCE OF children experiencing violence or discrimination because of their ethnic or immigrant background is higher in Ireland than the average found in a study of 15 EU countries.

The EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights collected data from 16,124 people across 15 EU member states who were from or had at least one parent from north Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Syria or Turkey. 

More than half of people of African descent in Ireland surveyed by an EU agency said they have experienced racial discrimination in the last five years.

Nearly two out of five parents in Ireland said their children had received offensive or threatening comments because of their ethnic or immigrant background, well higher than the EU average of 23%.

16% of parents said their children had been isolated at playtimes, or from social events, or from circles of friends, because of their background, compared to an EU average of 9%.

23% of parents of African descent in Ireland said their children had experienced physical abuse such as hitting, hair-pulling and kicking because of their ethnic or immigrant background. This was the highest rate of any of the countries surveyed, with an average of just 8%. 

Overall, the study found that almost half of people of African descent who were surveyed around the EU have experienced racial discrimination in the last five years, rising from 39% in 2016 to 45% in 2022. The figure was 56% in Ireland.

However, only 9% of respondents overall who had been discriminated against in the previous 12 months reported an incident, meaning that they were “invisible” to institutions with a legal obligation to help victims, the report noted.

Respondents who identified themselves as Christian were almost twice as likely as Muslim respondents to file a complaint or report incidents of discrimination (11% compared to 6%).

In Ireland, 43% of respondents of African descent said they had experienced racial discrimination when trying to rent or buy a home, compared to an average across countries of 31%. 

In a foreword, the head of the agency Michael O’Flaherty wrote: “People of African descent are routinely met with unfair treatment and bias when seeking jobs or homes. Racial discrimination, harassment and violence continues to haunt their daily lives.”

“Almost half of people of African descent in the EU face racism and discrimination in their daily lives, a rise since 2018,” O’Flaherty said.

But much of this remains invisible. Incidents of racial discrimination, racist harassment and violence often go unreported, denying victims the support they are legally entitled to receive from the institutions meant to protect them.

He said the EU’s adoption of its first ever Anti-Racism Action Plan for 2020-2025 was a “positive step forward” but that its “lasting effect will depend on its extension and the renewed commitment of the EU and its Member States past 2025″.

The findings should be a “wake up call for action on equality and inclusion for people of African descent”, he stated.

The agency’s formal opinion arising from the report is that EU member states should tighten up anti-discrimination legislation and implement measures to prevent people being disadvantaged on the basis of race or ethnic origin.