Many of the 48,000 immigrants into Ireland in 1999 were black and here to study and take up important positions. Fewer than one fifth of the total were asylum-seekers.
Yet the public's perception of almost all black and coloured people now is that they are asylum-seekers, a plenary session at the Academy of Medical Laboratory Science Conference 2000 heard at the weekend.
The small group of asylum-seekers, only 16.26 per cent of total immigrants, is getting "disproportionate negative attention", the conference in Tralee heard.
"There is now generalised racism in a spontaneous manner on the streets and this is especially the case in areas where there is a preponderance of asylum-seekers," said Father Michael Begley, director of Spiritan Asylum Services Initiative.
And the blacker you are the worse it is - studies have shown that racism is "a matter of colour, and degree of colour," he said.
Our official policies too badly needed changing, Father Begley said. "Rather than fostering integration, we are cultivating a psycho-social time-bomb by policies which taken together have a destructive effect.
"We cater for their survival needs but not for their broad social needs," he said.
Down the line our successful asylum-seekers would find it difficult to function, because they would have been "marginalised and institutionalised", as a result of direct provision and being denied the right to work. Asylum-seekers would also have built up resentment of their treatment, while awaiting a decision.
They still averaged 18 months' wait for a final decision, and this was despite the process having been speeded up recently.
"But even those who are rejected and deported, our view is they should have a positive, satisfying experience of Ireland. The point is they are not having that now," Father Begley said.