Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also thank the committee members for giving me the opportunity to appear before them to discuss education and the Traveller community. As members can see from the detailed submission provided by the Department, several initiatives are under way to improve educational outcomes for Travellers at all levels.

Part of this process includes identifying and addressing barriers to participation and engagement by Travellers in education. One of these barriers is the practice of operating reduced timetables. This issue is also being discussed at the Joint Committee on Education and Skills and I would like to acknowledge that committee's work on the matter. My Department has been working with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Tusla education support service in drawing up guidelines, which will require schools to notify Tusla when a reduced timetable is proposed. This will help to ensure that reduced timetables will be limited to those circumstances where they are appropriate.

I fully support actions to improve educational outcomes for Travellers, which include ensuring that the school setting is a more welcoming environment. I agree with the principles underlying the Traveller Culture and History in Education Bill 2018 proposed by the Chairman to provide for the inclusion of Traveller culture and history in the curriculum taught by recognised schools in the State. Recognising and respecting Traveller culture and history ensures that we can build relationships based on trust, respect and understanding across all cultures.

Officials of my Department participate in the steering group that was established to oversee the development and implementation of the national Traveller and Roma integration strategy, NTRIS, published in 2017. This strategy provides a framework for interventions across a range of Departments, including education, which is reflected in more than 30 education actions from early years to adult education. We recognise that Traveller and Roma communities need more focused interventions to drive improvements in educational outcomes. A pilot project has been established to develop innovative approaches to addressing issues that are impeding educational attainment for this reason.

In the areas of further and higher education, upon which the Minister of State will expand, through the further education strategy and the national plan for equity of access to higher education, we are working to break down the barriers for target groups to enrol in and complete their chosen area of study. A progress review of the plan led to the recently published Action Plan for Increasing Traveller Participation in Higher Education 2019-2021. As part of the annual further education and training service planning process between SOLAS and the ETBs are now required to consider the needs of a broad range of learners and disadvantaged groups, including Travellers, in their planning and delivery of further education and training.

I acknowledge that educational outcomes for Travellers fall short of what they should be but progress is being made, as evidenced in the roll-out of the NTRIS pilot projects and the progress report on the action plan for equity of access to higher education and we will continue to build upon this. A lot of work is ongoing in the Department to address the needs of the Traveller community. To achieve better outcomes for Traveller students, all stakeholders including parents, educators and Traveller representative groups, need to work together to overcome the barriers that limit educational achievement. I assure the committee that my Department is taking every action necessary to improve educational outcomes for Travellers.