Dr Ebun Joseph said the country 'is experiencing a visible rise in far-right activity, racist rhetoric, and racially motivated attacks'. Rising levels of racism and hate are not being tackled with the energy needed to “meet the scale and urgency” of the problem, Ireland’s special rapporteur on racial equality has said. Dr Ebun Joseph, in her first report to the Oireachtas, which was published on Wednesday, said tackling racism “is more critical now than ever”. In terms of outcomes in employment and education, Irish Travellers suffer the worst discrimination, she says, with an unemployment rate of 61 per cent – eight times the national average. Black or black Irish people have a 16 per cent unemployment rate – double the national average, and Arab communities have an unemployment rate of 21 per cent.

Source: The Irish Times February 18, 2026 18:54 UTC