NORTHERN IRELAND is becoming a more intolerant society, according to a new study by the North’s Equality Commission.
As the North tries to come to grips with more than 100 Romanians being forced from their homes and out of Northern Ireland as a result of race hatred, the commission’s survey of 1,071 adults showed greater numbers holding prejudices against people such as gays and Travellers compared with a similar study in 2005.
Just over half of people questioned (51 per cent) said they would mind a little or a lot having a Traveller as a neighbour, which is 10 percentage points more than in 2005. Almost one in four people (23 per cent) said they would mind a gay, lesbian or bisexual person living next door, compared to 14 per cent in 2005. The same number (23 per cent ) said they would feel the same about a migrant worker.
More than one in six of those surveyed (16 per cent) said they would not want a person with mental ill-health problems as a neighbour while 6 per cent felt the same about those with a physical disability. Having a neighbour of a different religion was a difficulty for only 6 per cent of respondents.
A total of 51 per cent said they would mind if a close relative were to marry a Traveller, compared with 38 per cent in 2005. In 2005 14 per cent of people surveyed said they would have a problem working with a gay, lesbian or bisexual person with that figure rising sharply to 23 per cent in the current study.
Commission head Bob Collins said one of the most striking figures was the 54 per cent who believed that racial prejudice was now more prevalent in NI.
He said that without diminishing the concerns triggered by the study, and the attacks on Roma people, it was important to have a sense of perspective.
Mr Collins said the survey, which was carried out in September last year, highlighted the work which remained to be done in order to change perceptions and attitudes in Northern Ireland.
He said that religious prejudice was similar to 2005 at 6 per cent. “While it is a consolation that so few people expressed such attitudes we cannot assume that the question of sectarianism is no longer an issue. We know that the contrary is true,” said Mr Collins.
Meanwhile, following criticism of how police dealt with the intimidation of Romanians PSNI assistant chief constable Alistair Finlay said lessons were learned about the issue. “We didn’t, probably, know enough about the Romanian community . . . and perhaps we came to that slightly late,” he said.