Ms Carole Brennan:

The Deputy asked a very good question. Ms Brennan was highlighting from our perspective the importance of stereotyping. We have found, all our lives, that if one happened to have a different colour, particularly in Ireland, there were certain stereotypes that one would have fitted into. I take the Deputy's point about the importance of role models.

The Deputy asked whether there is racism in today's society. I can only go on certain experiences that people have shared with me, because I do not live in Ireland at the moment but in London. I have heard stories of Nigerian families who have been subjected to racism. I suspect that because the Irish Government has not ratified the treaty of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, there is no protection in law for somebody who is attacked and called names or attacked because of the colour of their skin. That is part of the problem that we see. In the UK, if somebody calls me a name, incites hatred or whatever because of my race or colour, I can go to the police and the matter will be taken seriously.