Mr. Martin Collins:

On behalf of Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre, I appreciate this opportunity to speak to the committee about the challenges facing Travellers in the education system. Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre has given central importance to pursuing full and equal participation for Travellers throughout the education system since our inception in 1985. This continues to be based on our understanding of education's key importance for human dignity and rights. It was previously part of our name, which was Dublin Travellers Education and Development Group. Our work more recently expanded to include Roma and this has significantly enhanced our work. I hope we can come back at some stage in the future to talk about the specific experiences of Roma within the education system.

These are challenging times globally for all concerned with rights and equality, as we remember the terrible tragedy in Christchurch, New Zealand, this month and ongoing racism and exclusion in Ireland. A direct provision centre in Rooskey was burned and a house in Clonmel allocated to a Traveller family was vandalised. These incidents demonstrate the need for a new national action plan against racism. However, it is also a time of opportunity for Travellers with the recent recognition of Traveller ethnicity by the Taoiseach and Dáil in 2017. There is also the formal adoption of the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy, 2017-2021, NTRIS, which sets an agenda, including in the crucial area of education. Its aims have yet to be realised and urgent attention is needed to ensure its full implementation.

The disadvantage and poor educational outcomes for Travellers have been well-documented. We know that 13% of Travellers complete secondary education compared with 92% in the majority population. Some seven out of ten Traveller children live in families where the mother has either no formal education or primary education only. The national action plan on access to higher education has set a target of having 80 Travellers in third level education by the end of 2019.

To date, the figure has risen from 35 to 61, which is 26 additional Travellers. This points to the fact that we need to intensify our efforts in this regard but it also demonstrates that targeted interventions and resources are effective. We also know this from the Royal College of Surgeons, which has an affirmative action programme where a number of Travellers have the opportunity to study medicine and become doctors.

With regard to recommendations, we need to create a more inclusive learning context that promotes respect for diversity and interculturalism and addresses racism at individual, structural and institutional levels. We would like to make a number of recommendations in this area. All educational personnel, including policymakers, need to receive training on interculturalism and anti-racism, with an explicit focus on Travellers. For far too long, there has been a culture of low expectations among teachers and principals with regard to Travellers. This means that many Travellers have missed out on achieving their full potential and goals in life. In this context, we welcome the amendment to the Education Act before the Dáil, which proposes that Traveller culture and history be reflected in the school curriculum. While the 2017 integration strategy of the Department of Education and Skills provides basic principles for inclusion, we also need respect for cultural identity and social and economic inclusion. The proposed amendment will require concrete programmes and materials for schools on Traveller history and culture. We believe this is a fundamental step in the right direction. It is only a first step, as we need to include other cultures and identities in the school curriculum.

Now that we are post recession, we would like to see the restoration of support services for Travellers attending schools. These services were savagely cut by 85%, as Mr. Joyce outlined. Direct and targeted resources are needed to promote Traveller inclusion in mainstream education. One size does not fit all. Another important action in the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 is to promote affirmative action opportunities to support Travellers who want to become teachers. This is essential in promoting positive role models and influencing the culture and ethos of schools. Direct engagement with Traveller organisations as equal and key partners in the educational system and developing policy is essential. We have worked with the Department of Education and Skills in the development of the Traveller education strategy. We do not know the status of this strategy. The Traveller education consultative forum, or equivalent, needs to be re-established as we do not have forums to feed into policy development with regard to education for Travellers. We know the issues the community faces and we know what works.

We cannot deal with Traveller education in isolation from poor living conditions, high unemployment, low health status, exclusion and racism. A multifaceted approach is required. The NTRIS is designed to do that but its recommendations and implementation plans have yet to be fully realised. Mainstreaming on its own will not work. We fully support having targeted special measures to complement the inclusion and participation of Travellers in the mainstream.

I will finish with a quote from Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic woman to be appointed associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who stated: "Until we get equality in education, we won't have an equal society." That is very true.