Ministers have been accused of hiding statistics about the size of the Irish community in Scotland, making it harder to tackle the problem of sectarianism.

There has also been a call for a wider range of questions at the next census in four years' time to reflect this and other issues, such as the influx of Poles into the community.

Behind the move is Michael McMahon, Labour MSP for Hamilton North and Bellshill, who has criticised the executive's official website on multi-culturalism for airbrushing the Irish out of Scotland today.

"My concern is the Scottish executive's One Scotland, Many Cultures campaign," he said yesterday. "I endorse the campaign 100%, but there is a real concern within the Irish community that I represent that the executive doesn't recognised the status officially of the Irish community.

"There are links about immigration but there is nothing about where the Irish community stands. It says that 2% makes up the ethnic minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and so on, but there is no reference to the fact that one per cent are Irish."

Rhona Brankin, speaking in parliament as she was taking up the communities brief this week, said of the campaign website: "There is a link to the Analysis of Ethnicity in the 2001 Census: Summary Report' in the ethnicity data section, and there is a section on Irish migration in the section on the history of migration."

But Mr McMahon told her: "I want to make the minister aware that I and many others in the Irish community in Scotland are concerned that the executive's claim on its One Scotland, Many Cultures website that the Pakistani community is the biggest ethnic minority in the country is factually inaccurate.

"We are also concerned that its recognition of only non-white ethnic minorities undermines the excellent aims of the campaign. Does the minister acknowledge that as 50,000 Irish-born people and 100,000 people who have an Irish parent live in Scotland and as the multigenerational Irish community in Scotland has almost 500,000 people, the continuing failure properly to acknowledge the existence and importance of the Irish community in the country prevents the development of a proper understanding of the problems of racism and sectarianism in Scotland?"

The minister insisted: "Although the campaign does not deal specifically with racism toward Irish people, the fundamental messages are the same. The key issue is to tackle the underlying attitudes and behaviours."

But Mr McMahon held to his position yesterday. He said: "What I would like to see is a recognition of the Irish community. If we start recognising the existence of communities we can tackle the problems of those communities."

One example of an Irish-Scot with divided loyalties is Owen Coyle, the veteran footballer, who was in a quandary about whether to play for Scotland, where he was born and raised, or his parents' Republic of Ireland homeland.

Coyle, who chose Ireland, explained: "Our family was very much steeped in the Irish culture anyway, and it was a very big thing for my parents for one of their children to be asked to represent the country of their birth. The Irish have contributed an awful lot to the Scottish way of life."

Coyle also said that he feels "cut down the middle" when considering his roots.

The footballer, currently manager of St Johnstone, added that he supported both national teams as a youngster.