Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for that endorsement. I welcome our visitors, the Traveller people, who are with us today. It is historic, as my colleague, Senator Ó Ríordáin, stated earlier. It is wonderful that they are here. It is also wonderful that it is a public session. I warmly welcome them and endorse it, and I hope it is part of an ongoing dialogue.

I commend my colleague, Senator Colette Kelleher. I have had the privilege of serving on the Council of Europe with Senator Kelleher for some time. I have first-hand knowledge of how proactive the Senator is on issues and how committed and sincere she is. This is a wonderful initiative of Senator Kelleher and I commend that.

We all must say to the Traveller community - I am coming to a sequence of questions-----