Some 70 racist incidents were reported to the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) between May and October of this year, compared with 42 incidents for the previous six months and 46 incidents in the corresponding period last year.
The six-monthly reports were first logged in May 2001, when 41 incidents were reported.
However, the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, pointed out that these figures did not solely refer to racist assaults. They included episodes of discrimination and other non-violent incidents.
The Minister was speaking after it emerged that the number of racist incidents reported between May and October this year was the highest since records were first collated.
He "rejected entirely" the notion that it was open season for racism and said Garda figures showed the opposite was the case.
From January to November 8th this year 42 crimes with a racist motive were reported by the Garda, compared with 69 for 2003 and 102 for 2002.
Mr McDowell was speaking in Dublin at the launch of the NCCRI's three-year progress report and strategic plan.
The NCCRI is an expert body set up by the Government to give advice and develop initiatives to fight racism.
The immigrant support group, Residents Against Racism, protested outside the event, calling on the Government to stop deporting children with Irish citizenship.
Ms Rosanna Flynn, spokeswoman for the group, said it was no coincidence that the increase in racist incidents came at the same time as the referendum on citizenship.
Mr McDowell said that while it was not good to be complacent, the incidence of racism in the Republic was lower than in many other countries.
Pointing to a recent rise in racist attacks in Northern Ireland, he said that had not happened "to the extent that one feared" in this State.
Neither had we experienced the emergence of "far right" xenophobic political parties, unlike many other countries in Europe.
Mr McDowell said it was crucial that the Garda became representative of the new diverse Republic so that there was not a situation where one community was policing another.
Meanwhile, Ms Karima Zahi, who works with the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities, said she found the recent rise in Islamophobic sentiment "extremely alarming". She said she fully accepted that there had been a regression in the fight against racism.
Mr McDowell said it was "a terrible thing " if the terrorism issue was used as a mask for racist and xenophobic actions against a section of society.
Ms Zahi also highlighted the recent rise in racist incidents in Northern Ireland and said they had almost become a daily occurrence.
"No area in the North has been spared by this alarming phenomenon," she said, pointing out that 90 per cent of nurses from India and the Philippines who worked in Belfast had experienced a racist incident.
