A report has found people of African descent in Ireland suffer frequent racist abuse including violence, harassment and discrimination by public institutions.

The report, Afrophobia in Ireland, carried out by the European Network against Racism Ireland, carried out in-depth examinations of nearly 200 reported incidents of abuse over a two-year period.

It found that black men and women are persistently shouted at in public, asked to leave public spaces or services, and are accused of benefit fraud.

Young women in particular are victims of stalking and harassment in public places, while harassment of black families in their neighbourhoods is also extensive.

The anti-racism watchdog found that black and African people are often reluctant to call attention to the victimisation in case it caused further problems.

It also revealed that witnesses to racist incidents feel frustrated and scared during the attacks and are often afraid to intervene in case it aggravates the situation.

The lead researcher on the report has said people from the black African community suffer pervasive everyday racism.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Dr Lucy Michael, sociologist at the University of Ulster, said institutional racism in public services is also a problem.

Dr Michael said it can arise in areas such as social welfare, policing and with local authorities. She added that samples in the area were small, but the types of problems are persistent.

She said: "It's demonstrated in people not being given the service, being told that if they're not happy with the service they are receiving they should 'go home'. That's persistent.

"Gardaí refusing to accept or record racism as part of reports that are given to them or being late to the scene of incidences, allowing perpetrators to walk away from the scenes while they talk to the victims, very often focusing the attention on the victim rather than on the perpetrator," Dr Michael added.