Human Affairs Minister Jerome Dill revealed this during yesterday's two-hour debate on the Government department.

The HRC was "being more effective than ever'', he claimed.

"Previously it was 400 to 500 or 500 to 600 or 700 cases,'' Mr. Dill said.

"But in 1996, there were 1,244 cases.'' However, he pointed out that not all of the cases were resolved by the HRC which he said acted as a clearing house.

Of the 1,244 cases, Mr. Dill noted, 285 were referred to the Labour Ministry, 534 were handled "informally'', and some were referred to other agencies. But Mr. Dill stressed that the HRC "was there and rose to the challenge''.

He also gave an example of how the HRC was able to successfully resolve a discrimination complaint made by a black man working for a company which despite his qualifications had promoted younger whites over him.

The company ended up promoting the man and holding race relations workshops, Mr. Dill said.

This, he said, was just one example that it was not true that the HRC had no teeth.

"Yes of course there are people in this Country who practice institutional racism,'' Mr. Dill stressed. "But there is a watchdog, an arm of Government that works tirelessly to ensure that those practices are dealt with.'' The Commission for Unity and Racial Equality was also working tirelessly with all sectors of the community to eradicate the last vestiges of racism, the Minister said.

One of the "first fruits'' of the organisation's labours -- the Code of Practice -- was expected to be presented in the House shortly, Mr. Dill said.

The code is aimed at improving race relations and stamping out discrimination in the workplace.

"It is not possible to legislate the heart and minds of men and women,'' Mr.

Dill said, "but it is possible to legislate discriminatory behaviour and that's what we will do until we completely eradicate the last vestiges of racism.'' However, he admitted that dealing with racism was a "monumental'' task and he said CURE needed everyone's support.

Continued in Wednesday's newspaper Ministry of Human Affairs 1997/98 estimates Ministry responsibility: To establish systems and policies, to monitor and improve race relations, to facilitate the National Drug Commission's objectives and to involve parish councils in programmes.

Budget estimate: $2,226,000 (last year $2,023,000) Budget allocations Administration $587,000 Race relations $000,000 Human Rights $209,000 Drug Commission $1,200,000 C.U.R.E $230,000