Mr. Bernard Joyce:

In response to Senator Warfield, obviously the issue at hand is a serious one. It is a difficult issue for people to articulate. I also strongly feel that where people have been very closely affected by that it is a big thing to ask people who are directly impacted to make a presentation. It is quite an unfair request. However, individuals present because they feel they need to air their living experience. It is their living experience. I should add that Travellers are very resilient. They have overcome many hurdles. At this stage they probably feel they are ready for, and nearly anticipate, how society is going to treat them. They are geared and resilient. Part of it is about preparing their children for that hostile, difficult and challenging environment.

However, cracks tend to happen. One of the big aspects is that our culture has been and continues to be under siege. People pick some nice parts of it, such as the music and poetry, and say it is great but they do not do much to support or enable it. There has been no support for nomadism, which is a core part of it. With regard to Traveller accommodation, there is very little in terms of the budgets being drawn down. In the case of education, we are still playing catch up from a system that was institutionalised. Brigid Quilligan spoke about the segregation but I was one of those, along with many others, who were in a special, segregated class. I would nearly describe it as apartheid, like in South Africa. There was really no difference.

We are resilient and we have a positive outlook on life, despite the negative elements that affect us. We want to achieve and do better. We want to reach out to the community. It is probably in our genes that we want to reach out because we are a community that strives on what a community is and we have much to learn from others.

I saw some positive elements recently, such as the formal State recognition of Traveller ethnicity.

Recently Cant and tin-smithing were named as part of the tangible assets of the Traveller community, along with hurling, which is a really positive step. In the areas of sports, music, arts and culture, Travellers are really putting themselves out there. Reference was made to Traveller musicians and the song "Go, Move, Shift". My family lived on the Darndale Road at the time that song was written and it has a personal resonance for me; it is all about people's lived experience. The focus should not just be on the musicians of the past but also on the musicians of today like Sharon Ward, an absolutely fantastic, resilient singer and persona, Thomas McCarthy and Pecker Dunne.

The approach to addressing the underlying issues must be right across the spectrum. People might hinge on music or other areas but we must get back to the real issues in terms of recommendations, political will and resources. It is about putting forward key recommendations that can be delivered and monitored, with clear outcomes. The figures in front of us today are absolutely unacceptable and the State cannot stand over them. The Minister must be asked what his Department is doing to address these issues for the Traveller community.