A new ?State of the Races? booklet has been criticised for being five years out of date.hit out at the information, compiled by the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality (CURE) for relying on race information pulled from the 2000 census.

He told the Senate yesterday he is supportive of CURE?s work and the new statistics are useful to have at his fingertips but need to be more current.

Community Affairs Minister Dale Butler has already told the House of Assembly the booklet highlighted the longstanding disparity between the races ? and showed there was plenty of work for the community to bridge the social and economic divide.

But Sen. Swan yesterday questioned the use of tables of information stating that 30 per cent of Island households were ?near-poor or poor? back in 2000.

?How are those households positioned today in 2005?? he asked. ?Because since 2000 we have seen greater strains being put on family households.?

Sen. Swan also said that the number of jobs for working class Bermudians had reduced in the last five years.

And he said it was important not to wait until the next census in 2010 before the statistics ? outlining white/black data on wealth, education and jobs ? are updated.

The Opposition Senator also said Bermuda needs a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, so the state of race relations in the country can be examined without ?fear of reprisal?.

The told the Senate that ?tremendous steps? blacks had made to integrate had often not been met by whites, fuelling mistrust between the races.

?I hope that we can walk together as a community of Bermudians hand-in-hand to find some real solutions to this ever present problem that will not go away until we find a way to put a dent in it,? he said. said CURE had published more up-to-date race information, but did not discuss this in further detail.

Myra Virgil, executive officer at CURE, said the report is the most comprehensive of its kind available in Bermuda, and it follows common international practices.

She said used employment information that CURE collected annually, but it also took in aspects like income and education to offer a broader picture on race.

?This complements what we do on an annual basis,? she added.