Reports of racism in Ireland hit record high levels in 2020.
Throughout the year, 700 reports of racist incidents were logged on the Irish Network Against Racism's iReport service.
It marks a 25% increase on the figures from 2019.
#ARM2021 continues as we launched our https://t.co/4WPniTH1Eq
data report for 2020. There's still plenty happening this & the next week, incl our Hate Crime- focused event in p-ship with Lord Mayor @hazechu
this Fri.Registration opens soon!See whats on:https://t.co/RAbSor2wn4— INAR - Irish Network Against Racism (@INARIreland) March 23, 2021
The highest ever number of racist assaults and hate speech incidents were also recorded, at 51 and 594 respectively.
The author of the report, Dr Lucy Michael, says more needs to be done by the government and institutions like the Gardai to tackle the issue.
She says "I'm very much looking forward to the introduction of the new hate-crime legislation and improvements to the incitement to hatred legislation. Not just for the deterrent effect that they offer, but because they come with training for An Gardai Siochana, the judiciary and support services. They should also come with resources for victim support."
Dr Michael also says she's looking forward to the national action plan against racism that the government has promised to publish this year.
