Mr. Thomas McCann:

It would send a very clear message to the Traveller community that this State recognises and validates its culture. It would not be a magic wand because we have dealt with and are dealing with generations of exclusion, racism and poverty. It would not change things overnight but it would start a process of healing in this State and begin to build confidence in the community. It is good that there is some funding for Traveller Pride week but recognition by the State would be a much stronger position from which to build Traveller pride in terms of this State recognising Traveller identity.

In terms of mental health, the denial of identity has a huge impact on mental health. Numerous pieces of work have been done on this by different people that relate to internalised shame, low self-esteem and denial of identity. Employment was mentioned earlier. There have been cases where when Travellers were employed and it was discovered that they were Travellers, many of them were let go. I sat on the board of the Equality Authority for eight years when it was first established and have seen cases coming through. People had to hide their identities and still do in order not to be penalised. This has a huge impact on Travellers.

It is hard to compare the situation of Traveller children. I tried to think of a comparison earlier. It might be comparable to colonisation or something. It is a colonisation of culture. The only comparison I could draw is that it is similar to when a country is colonised and an identity is eroded. I do not know whether the committee is familiar with some of the depictions of Irishness in Punch magazine. It is the same erosion of culture and has an impact on people. I am glad to see that has changed. Irish confidence and self esteem 50 or 60 years ago was in a very different place than it is today.

The families in Carrickmines are living on a reclaimed dump and face significant health hazards. They are waiting for accommodation that will probably not be delivered until the end of 2017, if it happens at all. As people know, there was a protest by residents when a field was identified for the families affected to move into. I know the families are living in terrible conditions because councillors visit them on a regular basis.