Mr. Martin Collins:

I will respond briefly to Deputy Finian McGrath's question about political leadership. The reaction to the burning of a house allocated to a Traveller family in Donegal was disappointing. There was a lack of courage and political leadership from most people, with a few exceptions, including Deputy Finian McGrath and Deputy Pringle. In the absence of that, the signal being given is that it is open season on Travellers and one can attack Travellers with impunity. This does not befit a western, civilised democracy. The rule of law is being completely ignored. I hope the culprits who were responsible will be brought to justice. In fact, it is reported by the Garda this morning that after 61 days the incident has been found to be criminal damage and arson. It was not an accident.

With regard to good practice, in Romania the Roma are recognised as a distinct ethnic minority. That is reflected in its constitution. In Romania there is a model of good practice in political leadership. Its national parliament has an affirmative action programme in which Roma are represented in the political system. That is a model of good practice and is something that potentially could and should be replicated in the Irish context. I agree with Brigid that recognising Traveller ethnicity is not a panacea or a cure-for-all, but it is a step in the right direction. If that is the starting point, it must be supported by appropriate legislation and resources. I can give an example. I was in primary education for six years. Unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to get a secondary education. In those six years I was in an exclusively settled environment and I was taught about settled history, settled people's culture and so forth. That is quite valuable, but at no stage in those six years was my identity as a Traveller in Ireland affirmed and celebrated. I am not a human rights lawyer but I suspect that if Traveller ethnicity was granted, under international law there would be an obligation on the State to ensure that our curriculum is inter-cultural and reflects diversity. It would be different from what it is now, which is basically a monocultural system.