Ms Anastasia Crickley:

This is a first move. This is the same with the Sami people, the Maori or indigenous people in other parts of the world. That recognition and that acknowledgement create a ground floor. I will leave it to my colleagues to talk about the particular things. The Sami people now have their own parliament and they work across a number of countries. Some of these recognitions of indigenous people have come very late in the day. However, it means that indigenous people even in what was until relatively recently war-torn Guatemala for example are acknowledged and recognised within the country. It does not do away with the racism, discrimination and a variety of other things they experience but it is a first step towards creating conditions for full citizenship. It has made that difference. It means that people can come fully to the international arena and represent themselves, both as, for example, New Zealander and Maori. It certainly makes a difference.

The corollary of that is the implication that somehow this would confer extra rights on Travellers, which is not the case. It creates the conditions where Travellers can exercise or may be able to exercise the rights they should have as citizens in Irish society by addressing the other gaps. I will leave it to my colleagues to talk about the other gaps.