Mr. Bernard Joyce:

To respond to the commentary on diversity and equality within the Traveller community, yes, we have come so far but we still have a long way to go. The Traveller community must lead the way on human rights, equality, participation and inclusion. At the same time, the wider community has a lot to learn from the Traveller community's progression.

Senator Ruane's question about inclusion is important. As for participation, the question is where one stops in terms of outcomes. The Traveller community and Traveller activists have been engaged in all these different structures - and been asked to do so - but the big question is about the implementation of policies. I refer to the 1995 task force report and all the recommendations that came out of it. We have not seen all the recommendations applied. This is what I mean by participation and inclusion in terms of outcomes. The outcomes have been poor for the amount of time and resources we put into this. We have made progress but we need to see a lot more in the form of real change and outcomes. The position is not acceptable in the context of suicide, the housing crisis, racism and exclusion. All these issues are at crisis point for the community.