Ms Susan Fay:

Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy raised the issue of services or protections that were not available. International human rights and equality protections do not automatically include Travellers because Travellers are not recognised as an ethnic group. I have made an interesting observation on the benefit of recognising Traveller ethnicity. It is interesting that Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn needed to ask Ms Quilligan and Mr. Collins about their history. All of the members before me are educated and we should know. There are many versions of history. As a woman, for example, I often feel women have been written out of history because history is written by men. Travellers and their contribution have been written out of history. We should have been taught it in school.

There is more. When I learned about Travellers in the civil, social and political education, CSPE, programme, it was about deprivation. We do not learn about the richness of their culture. Ethnicity recognition will bring about an enrichment of society by valuing an indigenous group. It must be noted that there have been cuts to the Traveller education budget. On average, €17 million per annum used to be spent, but in 2010 that budget was cut totally. Many of the special provisions, for example, the Traveller transport scheme and the allocation of special teachers, were axed. That pain will be felt for generations to come.

We should know the history of Travellers. I hope ethnicity recognition will bring about value and respect.