Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all the witnesses and thank them for their straightforward and though-provoking presentations.

Mr. Joyce outlined the history of this issue and how we arrived at this point. He mentioned the 80% cut in funding for Traveller education in 2011. Senator Ruane made the point that that in itself was not a target, but the Government has to address that issue at the very least. We are now eight years past that date, and have been told that the economy is flying and that we have the fastest growing economy in Europe. It is time for our citizens to see the benefits of that.

The statistics speak for themselves. Only 13% of Travellers complete secondary education, as compared to 92% of the settled community. Mr. Collins summed up the matter for many people. We are discussing attempts to increase education for the Travelling community. All of society would benefit from increased education in this area.

Some of the points that jumped out at me include the importance of having teachers from the Traveller community. What can we do to encourage children and young adults from the Traveller community to take up teaching? Are there any incentives we can put in place to address that?

The home is vitally important for all our children, be they Travellers or otherwise. There is no doubt that Traveller children are very much at a disadvantage in that respect. What can we do or what incentives can be put in place to encourage parents to re-engage, or engage for the first time, with education? What the child is taught in the home has serious implications for the child going forward. What measures can we put in place to address that particular issue? People spoke about the facilities available and the obstacles that Traveller families come up against by simply trying to get their children to school in the morning. They might not have transport, or access to broadband might be non-existent, or costs associated with schooling might be prohibitive. Would some form of breakfast club or after-school facility, where children from the Traveller community could get targeted attention, help to address the issue?

What are the thoughts of the witnesses on this? Deputy Byrne asked me to mention the reduction in timetables. Are there case studies on this that would help us? I acknowledge the work done by my colleague in the Seanad, Senator Colette Kelleher, on this issue. She has done great work and it is clear that more needs to be done.