Members of the Indian community in Ireland plan to request the creation of a cross-departmental task force in response to a “recent spate of violent attacks”, reports Breaking News.
The Ireland India Council is scheduled to meet Tánaiste Simon Harris on Monday afternoon, where they will advocate for these incidents to be recognised and recorded as hate crimes.
The issue gained national attention after an Indian man was assaulted in an unprovoked attack in Tallaght, Dublin, last month, reports Breaking News.
In response, Friends of India organised a silent vigil outside the Department of Justice.
The Indian embassy in Dublin has also issued a notice warning of “an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently”.
They advised Indian nationals to take “reasonable” safety measures and to steer clear of isolated locations, reports Breaking News.
Mr Harris expressed being “deeply concerned” about the recent attacks and said he was especially troubled by a report involving a six-year-old girl in Waterford.
He noted one of the most disturbing aspects was “very young age of those that have been involved in some of this racist activity”, reports Breaking News.
The Ireland India Council is calling for attacks targeting the Indian community to be formally classified as hate crimes to ensure such offences are “appropriately recorded and addressed”.
They also plan to advocate for the establishment of a cross-departmental task force focused on hate crime and youth violence to deliver a unified strategy, reports Breaking News.
The council is also requesting “legislative reform to hold parents accountable for repeat violent behaviour by minors in their care”.
In addition, they are demanding increased policing efforts, quicker legal action against offenders, and outreach programmes for affected communities, reports Breaking News.
On Sunday, Colm Brophy, Minister of State for Migration, said he wants incoming Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly to prioritise tackling these incidents.
“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 RTÉ Radio. “I think there needs to be a stronger policing response in this area because there’s two aspects to these attacks which I think are very very unacceptable. The first is obviously the attack itself, and the second then 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,” reports Breaking News.
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