Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will answer on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality. I thank Deputies for their contributions to the debate. I listened to some of the contributions in the past hour, but I missed the first half of the discussion last night.

Sinn Féin's motion addresses many issues facing the Traveller community and there is no doubt that the Traveller community is one that experiences poorer outcomes. That point is well made in the motion and has been retained in the Government's counter-motion which seeks to take a more balanced approach and reflect the work being done in various Departments to bring about a real improvement in the lives of Travellers and their status in Irish society.

Some €400 million has been invested in Traveller-specific accommodation in the past 15 years. Additional resources provided in the education system are allocated on the basis of identified individual educational need and distributed equally among all children, including members of the Traveller community. Substantial investment has also been made through the local and community development programme, with funding of €1.17 million for the national Traveller partnership in 2015 alone.

None of this is to deny that outcomes for members of the Traveller community in Irish society persistently remain at levels hugely inconsistent with those for the wider settled community, but we need to acknowledge the work that is being done and the resources that have been committed. The Department of Justice and Equality recently launched a comprehensive consultation process, with a view to putting in place a revised national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy to improve the situation for the Traveller and Roma communities. Phase 1 of the process was an initial round of consultations to identify the priority themes to be addressed in a revised strategy. Some 37 submissions were received and they are being analysed and considered by the Department, from which a paper on which to base the next phase will be ready for publication very shortly. Phase 2 of the process will be based on this paper which will contain suggested high level objectives within each of the agreed themes identified in phase 1. A number of public consultations will take place nationwide in early 2016 and further submissions will then be sought. These submissions will inform the final phase which will focus on precise actions under each objective and include continued consultation with the national Traveller and Roma integration strategy steering group to develop a draft strategy for Government approval. It is intended that the revised national strategy will run from 2016 to 2020 and be in place as early as possible in 2016.

Turning to the recognition of Travellers as an ethnic group, it is worth mentioning that, at the request of the Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, the four national level Traveller NGOs provided a paper setting out why being recognised as an ethnic group was important to Travellers and what it would mean to them.

The paper sets out in a very positive way what Travellers see as the advantages of recognition. It does not claim that there would be any onerous legal implications or that there would be any implications whatsoever for public expenditure, nor does it claim that there are any international human rights laws or obligations that recognition would somehow conjure into being. Concerns Departments had formerly about legal implications and financial costs have been resolved. In other words, there are no cost implications and almost no legal implications. As indicated in the Government's amendment, this is an issue that is being examined in the context of discussions on to the proposed new Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy and we know that in the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, we have a passionate advocate for change and for recognition.

The divide between the Traveller community and the majority community has been all-too apparent in recent weeks. We need a two-way process. The majority community needs to affirm and recognise the value of Traveller heritage and culture, and move away from the all-too-easy practice of stereotyping all members of the Traveller community based on the anti-social behaviour of a few. Another part of the reality is the State and its agencies need to improve the effectiveness of our responses to the needs of the Traveller community. Within this there must be meaningful consultation with the Traveller community whose voice should be heard and should influence service responses.

The Government has some areas of disagreement with the Deputies' proposal, but not with the spirit and intention of the motion. The Sinn Féin motion calls for the establishment of an all-Ireland forum on Traveller issues. While the Government is not convinced of the utility of precisely this approach, nonetheless there may be a value in the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality continuing a national-level dialogue with Traveller interests and all other stakeholders, following the recommendations of its earlier report on this issue. I propose that the committee might initiate a national dialogue involving Travellers and the settled community, including representatives of all political parties, central government, local authorities, health and education sectors, and representatives of media organisations, to facilitate the development of greater mutual understanding between Travellers and the settled community, and respect for the heritage and culture of Travellers and their contribution to the wider society.

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