Immigrants must be made to feel "safe, secure and welcome" in Ireland, the chairperson of the National Action Plan against Racism (NAPR), Lucy Gaffney said tonight.
Speaking at the launch of a new Dublin City Council strategy on integration at City Hall, Ms Gaffney warned that ghettoisation of immigrant communities must be avoided.
She also commented about the need to aware that incidents of racism often rise in times of slower economic growth.
The National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI), which has been collating reports of alleged racist incidents across the country since 2001, recently released figures showing an increase from 65 to 99 in reported incidents from 2006 to 2007 - the highest figure recorded since June 2005.
Ms Gaffney called on the Government to ensure that diversity and integration plans address this issue and avoid the marginalisation of immigrants and their families in Ireland.
"There is a real danger that at times like this incidents of racism increase, and immigrants are forced not to mix with the local population. Very often they close-in together, becoming marginalised to some of our poorest neighbourhoods," she said.
"This pattern of ghettoisation is all too familiar in other major cities and countries in Europe. The Government must do all in its power to ensure that this does not emerge here," she added
