The economic benefit of treating people fairly is huge, the Minister for Justice said when launching the annual report of the Equality Authority yesterday.
Michael McDowell praised the authority for translating its booklets into 13 different languages in order to raise awareness of the right to equality of opportunity and non-discrimination among migrant workers.
Referring to the fact, revealed in the report, that migrant workers continue to be a significant focus for racism, he said: "Our economic growth is increasingly reliant on diverse sources of labour supply, and our ability to attract and retain migrant workers will be damaged if we do not stamp out such discriminatory practices."
He said that Ireland's economic success is fed, not only by migrant workers, but by women returning to the workforce. Despite the fact that laws prohibiting discrimination on the ground of gender have existed since 1974, he said that the gender gap still exists.
"Many attribute this gap to the fact that women are more likely to take time off work to care for children and ageing family relatives," he said. "However, a recently published study found gender pay gaps in recent graduates in the private sector."