Colette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

There will be a cup of tea for everybody at 2.30 p.m. That is probably more important than anything else I will say today.

When the State formally recognised the ethnicity of Irish Travellers on 1 March 2017, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, stated: "I hope that today will create a new platform for positive engagement by the Traveller community and Government together in seeking sustainable solutions which are based on respect and on honest dialogue." For too long, Travellers' identity was not recognised. The 1963 report of the Commission on Itinerancy caused damage which we are only beginning to undo. It socially constructed Travellers as failed settled people, denying the reality of their true and proud identity. It was an obliteration of people's true essence and presence from the public sphere. What happened as a result was very wrong, personally and politically. Travellers are still living with many of the consequences, as we heard in this morning's session. It was bad for Travellers and, by extension, for Ireland.

Today, we will examine ways to foster inclusion, dialogue and relationships between Travellers and the wider community. We will hear directly about and name the very real stigma, prejudice, discrimination, and racism that exists. As Mr. Martin Collins identified, racism is at the heart of this matter and that is what we need to face up to and understand. We must also confront the consequent social exclusion and identity erosion, which is shamefully and sadly an everyday reality for Travellers as eloquently described by Ms Minnie Connors. Some Travellers experience double discrimination by virtue of gender, sexuality or disability and Ms Rosaleen McDonagh spoke eloquently in that regard.

We are discussing this matter in the era of fake news. The accurate and fair treatment of Travellers in the media is of critical importance. The recent coverage of a certain presidential candidate whom I will not dignify by naming did not reflect well on our media. That kind of discourse generates hate speech and hate crime.

We need good and effective laws to deal with this.

We must also understand the impact of hate speech on people’s participation in the world. The "K" word, and its harmful and hurtful effects, is particularly odious in terms of internalised oppression and mental ill-health. There is not a Traveller family in Ireland that has not been affected by suicide, and the statistics are truly shocking and far-reaching. Traveller men and women are seven and six times more likely, respectively, to take their own lives than the general population. We heard an eloquent first-hand account of that earlier.

The media have a responsibility in propagating stereotypes and bias. It was encouraging that the Office of the Press Ombudsman made a submission to this committee's public call. However, despite codes of ethics, Travellers still experience unequal participation in reporting, delivery and visibility within the media. Historically, Travellers were, and often still are, presented in the media as subjects of news rather than being visible throughout mainstream broadcast materials as commentators or presenters who influence the narrative. We need to move beyond our segregated worlds and look at ways to foster inclusion and dialogue. We can collaborate nationally and locally. We need to get it right, and we need to create more spaces like the one we have here today. We are now going to hear more voices and continue our conversations and deliberations.