Issues of inequality and injustice throughout the world were put "firmly on the agenda" of the EU Commission this week, according to Mr Tom Kitt, Minister of State with responsibility for overseas development and human rights.
"We need to be compassionate to people coming from abroad," he said, referring in particular to refugees and asylum-seekers. "Immigration for work, and the presence of so many foreign workers here, is, in fact, a manifestation of our prosperity," he added.
He was speaking at the launch of this year's Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards (MAMA) in Dublin yesterday.
The MAMA awards, which were set up by the founders of the multicultural newspaper Metro Éireann three years ago, "are an important reminder of the need for practical action as well as the need to stimulate new thinking if we are to achieve the important goal of being an intercultural society," said Mr Niall Crowley, chief executive of the Equality Authority.
The wide range of individuals and organisations involved in meeting the challenge of racism is a source of optimism, he said.