Those who identify as LGBTI+ experience the highest level of discrimination in Ireland, according to new figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
In their report, the CSO identified that nearly 18pc of people aged eighteen or over said that they had experienced some form of discrimination in the past two years.
The highest rates of discrimination were reported by those who identify as LGBTI+ (33.2pc), followed by persons from non-white ethnic backgrounds (33.1pc).
More males than females cited their sexual orientation as a perceived reason for discrimination. However, 29.1pc of females cited gender as grounds for discrimination in comparison to 7.8pc of males.
Meanwhile, nearly one in 10 of those discriminated against (9.4pc) said they experienced discrimination in the workplace while almost one in eight (11.8pc) have had incidents while accessing services such as public transport or health facilities.
In the workplace, 7.3pc of females were discriminated against compared to 4.6pc of males, with the most common reason cited as bullying or harrassment.
Of those who experienced workplace discrimination, 29.2pc said the incidents had a ‘serious effect’ on their lives.
Further data shows that more than one third (34.7pc) of those who felt discriminated against while using public transport had a disability. Age was also a significant factor for discrimination with 35.3pc citing age as their perceived grounds against them while looking for work.
Members of the traveller community experienced the highest level of discrimination while in contact with An Garda Síochána (6.8pc) and in education (6.4pc).
Overall, just 3pc of those discriminated against made an official complaint or took legal action. However, there has been a significant increase in knowledge of rights, with 41.3pc considering themselves to ‘understand a lot’ of Irish equality law compared to 26.8pc in 2014.
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