The killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis has prompted protests against racism around the world, including in Ireland. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that"even though we may not have police brutality in Ireland … We do have racism." Young people of colour growing up in Ireland were "not treated always as though they are as Irish as the rest of us," he said. "Black lives matter, but also black feelings matter too."
He said the next government should focus on “rooting out” racism, and look at why the country did not have higher proportions of ethnic minorities in senior positions. “We don’t see many black or brown judges, or in the Dáil I’m the only one I think at the moment, don’t see many presenters on TV for example, and that needs to change,” he said.
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