Any incidents of anti-Irish racism in Britain must be seen in the context of the greatly improved climate of Irish-British relations in recent years. The significant contribution of members of the Irish community there to the political, economic, social and cultural life of Britain is now fully recognised and appreciated by the British Government, as recorded by Prime Minister Blair in his address to the Houses of the Oireachtas in November 1998 and exemplified by his attendance at a recent London reception of the Federation of Irish Societies in Britain and the presence of the Home Secretary and the Northern Ireland Secretary at the federation's congress in Sheffield this past weekend.
This acknowledgement by the British authorities of the contribution of Irish people to society there is accompanied by acknowledgement that some of our community continue to encounter discrimination and disadvantage. A report in 1997 for the Commission for Racial Equality examined the extent of discrimination against the Irish community in Britain and how it affected many areas of people's lives. The report contained recommendations to Government agencies, statutory bodies, voluntary organisations and private companies about combating anti-Irish discrimination. The then British Home Secretary welcomed the raising of awareness of the issues covered by the commission's report and undertook to ensure that the concerns mentioned in it would be given proper attention.