Mr. Patrick Nevin:

On what Ms Catherine Joyce spoke about at the end of her presentation, and what Deputy Ó Cuív said about new communities and the treatment of Travellers, we should not nor can we separate the historical othering of Travellers at the hands of the State and its institutions, and how that has impacted on the mindset of the majority population and their relationship with the new communities. We have witnessed that in recent weeks in terms of what has happened in Oughterard, Ballymore and the fire-bombing of direct provision centres or hotels that were earmarked for direct provision accommodation. To me, that points to the fact that we, tinkers or Travellers, were the template for all of what is happening at this moment and what is to come. That must be acknowledged.

In terms of reparations, the State needs to take ownership of Traveller identity and culture. It needs to acknowledge that we have been part and parcel of the State since its foundation in 1922 and long before then for the previous millennia; we have existed and coexisted. It is now time for reparations. I have submitted my ideas for reparations as we all have. The State needs to hold up its hands and say, "We need to take cognisance of what we inflicted on the community".

In 2017, the ESRI compiled a report entitled A Social Portrait of Travellers in Ireland, which showed the difference in improvements in educational attainment of the non-Traveller population from the 1960s onwards when compared with what happened to Travellers. It is important to note from the research that from the 1960s onwards Travellers were subject to an assimilationist-absorption policy for Travellers yet for the majority population the policy was one of education and investment in its culture, identity, history and place. That did not happen for Travellers. The State needs to acknowledge what happened and take ownership of its actions, which is what I am talking about in terms of reparations.

Ms Catherine Joyce made the point, as we all have, that State acknowledgement is not just important to Travellers. We are not here to educate the majority population. It is up to the State and its institutions to provide such education. They need to take ownership of that task, which is important for the new communities but also for what is happening with Brexit and Northern Ireland, and where we are going in a new Ireland, the new discourse and what we are attempting to do. At the heart of this situation is that Travellers have been used as a template for everything else that has happened to the new communities. The State has perfected its othering on the back of Travellers so now is the time for reparations and not willy-nilly projects. The State needs to take on board what has taken place in Canada, New Zealand and other places. Such initiatives have, by and large, not resolved the issues in those places but a real genuine attempt has been made to address past wrongs, which is what this State needs to do. I will respond further, if needs be.