Mr. Martin Collins:

Choosing not to recognise Traveller ethnicity has cost implications. When one considers the context in which the Traveller community finds itself, educational outcomes for Travellers are much inferior to those of the settled community, few Travellers have an opportunity to go to post-primary education, never mind third level education, and the outcomes of accommodation policy are despicable. The health inequalities between the two communities show that, on average, a Traveller man will live 15 years less than his settled counterpart and a Traveller woman will live 12 years less than her settled counterpart. The infant mortality rate among Travellers is almost four times the national average. Ms Quilligan referred to the suicide rate among Travellers, which is almost seven times higher than in the settled community. There is also a significant and growing drugs problem in the community and an alcohol problem. All of these issues are fundamentally tied up with the issue of identity and for these reasons, the issue of ethnic status has more than practical implications for us. It has symbolic meaning to us in terms of our self-esteem, self-worth, confidence and status in society overall. That is the point I was trying to make. It is not some sort of academic, ideological or philosophical debate but an issue with practical and symbolic implications. This is a core point and the reason ethnic status is the human rights issue for our generation, in the same way that same sex marriage will be the issue for many people, including Travellers. The starting point, in the context in which we find ourselves, is that choosing not to recognise Traveller ethnicity has cost implications.

I can only speculate as to whether the Government has done its own work and research which may show cost implications in recognising Traveller ethnicity. While that may be the case, investment and parity of esteem are needed in the long term.

There is a peculiar understanding about ethnicity in an Irish context in that we seem to attribute it to minority groups only. People tend to overlook that there are also majority ethnic groups. In the Irish context, settled people belong to a majority ethnic group. I am not suggesting that all the members present practise the same traditions or hold the same values but they all belong to one ethnic group.

I am not suggesting that all settled people have the same traditions and values but they all belong to the same ethnic group. Settled people have no need to be conscious of that because they have developed an infrastructure which supports and validates their ethnicity. We do not have the same infrastructure. I would like Traveller history and identity to be reflected in our schools. I would like our history, our culture and our contribution to Irish society to be reflected in museums and heritage centres.

As already stated, we do not have the relevant infrastructure. We are continually conscious of that fact. Our ethnicity is, therefore, always under siege and being contested and questioned in a way that does not happen to other groups. That is the fundamental message we are trying to get across to members and I hope we will succeed in that regard. I have never had an opportunity to meet the Attorney General or to hear an explanation as to why the Government has refused to recognise Traveller ethnicity. I hope, therefore, the committee will at some point invite the Attorney General to appear before it in order that she might explain what is the objection-----