Indian community in Ireland seeks hate crime task force amid spate of attacks

India Today

6 days ago

In view of rising racially motivated attacks on Indian-origin people in Ireland, representatives of the Indian community are calling for urgent government action, including the formation of a cross-departmental task force to address hate crimes and youth violence.The representatives of the Ireland India Council (IIC) were scheduled to meet with Tanaiste (deputy PM of Ireland) Simon Harris on Monday afternoon (Irish Standard Time) to push for stronger measures, including the classification of assaults on Indians as hate crimes. The Council said this would help ensure that such offences are properly recorded, investigated, and prosecuted, UK's Daily Mail reported.advertisementThe council said it would push for legislation to hold parents responsible for repeated violent actions of minors.
The Irish Deputy Prime Minister, Harris, said he was "deeply concerned" over the attacks, especially on the child, who was subjected to racial slurs and was hit in her private parts by boys from gangs aged 12 to 14, The Daily Mail reported.He also said one of the most concerning aspects was the "very young age of those that have been involved in some of this racist activity," according to the report.Minister of State for Migration, Colm Brophy, has also expressed concern over the rising attacks on Indian-origin individuals, even as the overall serious crime in the country has seen a dip. He also wanted the upcoming Irish police commissioner to prioritise the issue.The Ireland India Council is an independent, non-aligned, prominent organisation dedicated to strengthening Ireland-India relations across public, private, academic, and cultural domains, and was established in 2002, according to Dublin-based news portal breakingnews.ie.The move follows a series of violent incidents targeting Indian-origin people, including a six-year-old girl who was attacked last week by a gang of boys.The first such incident was reported on July 19, after an Indian man was beaten up in an unprovoked attack in Tallaght, Dublin, on July 19.COUNCIL PUSHES FOR HATE CRIME RECOGNITION, TASK FORCE TO COMBAT ATTACKSThe IIC will request the Irish government to formally recognise assaults on members of the community as hate crimes to ensure these incidents are properly recorded and addressed.They will also call for a cross-departmental task force on hate crime and youth violence to deliver a coordinated response, The Daily Mail reported.They have also called for enhanced policing, swift prosecution of offenders, and an outreach programme to communities affected, according to the report.IRISH MINISTER CALLS ON POLICE COMMISSIONER TO PRIORITISE ACTION ON RACIST ATTACKSOn Sunday, Minister of State for Migration, Colm Brophy, said he wanted the incoming Garda (Irish police) Commissioner, Justin Kelly, to prioritise addressing these incidents.advertisement"We actually have seen a drop in serious crime, but in this particular area, we have seen a rise in the type of attacks," he told RT Radio, according to The Daily Mail."I think there needs to be a stronger policing response in this area because there are two aspects to these attacks which I think are very, very unacceptable," Brophy added."The first is obviously the attack itself, and the second is the recording and videoing of it and the disseminating of it on social media – and there's a role that has to be dealt with there as well," The Daily Mail quoted Brophy as saying.- EndsMust Watch