Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank both witnesses for their presentations, which will be of considerable assistance in the compilation of the report the joint committee will draw up shortly with recommendations for the Government. The position of both bodies is clear and has been on the public record in the past. However, I now wish to go through some of the implications of what appears to be ongoing ethnicity denial within this State. As was pointed out in the presentations, in England, Wales and Scotland, on foot of a court decision, the ethnicity of the Irish Traveller community essentially has been recognised. Through the equality legislation in Northern Ireland, there clearly is a definition of Irish Travellers as an ethnic minority. Are there are legal implications for the State because the Government has refused to recognise ethnicity? Are there possible legal implications for the State at a European level in the future if it persists in sustaining this position? I am mindful the witnesses are not attending as legal experts but I seek their thoughts on this point.