Officially opening the conference at the LinkedIn Community Space in Dublin this morning, Mrs McEntee reiterated the government’s commitment to passing the “hugely important” Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill, the first specific legislation dealing with hate crime in the State.

She continued: “Safety and protection for every individual and every community in Ireland is at the heart of what we are setting out to achieve — including those who may not have the loudest voice or the largest platform, or who feel intimidated to come forward.

“Racial discrimination has no place in an equal society, and the action plan against racism sets out a whole-of-government approach to eliminating racism in all its forms, and ensuring where racism occurs, it can be addressed.”

She added: “An Garda Síochána takes hate crime seriously and is strongly committed to engaging proactively and respectfully with all members of society, and, in particular, persons from minority groups and diverse backgrounds. Their latest statistics show that hate crimes increased by 29 per cent last year over the previous year, with racism as the most prevalent motive.

“I would strongly encourage anyone who has been a victim or has witnessed any hate motivated crime to report it to An Garda Síochána. Nobody deserves to be targeted because of who they are.”

The conference also heard contributions on how racism could be tackled through better political representation of migrant communities and positive initiatives in sport and community engagement.

Speakers included Gonchigkhand Byambaa, an activist from the Mongolian community living in Ireland; Uruemu Adejinmi, the first black woman elected as a councillor in Ireland; Luna Liboni, chair of the Coalition Against Hate Crimes, and Leon Diop, co-founder and CEO of Black and Irish.

Brian Killoran, CEO of the Immigrant Council, said: “Ireland is not becoming a more diverse country, it is a diverse country, and we are all the more empowered by that fact.

“The minority voices who seek to abuse others and sow hate and division must be opposed and challenged, and those who experience such hostility need to be supported to access redress and protections.

“The wide array of voices speaking at the event today demonstrates this need, but also highlights much of the positive and important work that is being done to address these issues.”