Mr. Patrick McDonagh:

There is nothing currently that I am aware of, but it is something that should be built on. I was quite lucky in my circumstances.

I never had a teacher who told me I could not do something. I went to a school where most people did go to university. If students performed academically, there was no reason for them to be told they would not be going, unless they chose not to go.

Having said that, however, my younger brother had a bad experience of school. I refer to fighting, bullying and unsympathetic teachers. The experience of education in my own family was, therefore, different. My brother is doing an apprenticeship now. He decided to go back into education and pursue a qualification, but one quite different from mine. That is a good example. Even though his experience in school was negative, he still decided that it was a good thing to return to education and to try to get a qualification because he was interested. We cannot rely on lucky circumstances or having good teachers, however. There are many good teachers, but many Travellers still do have a very good experience of school. I did, but my brother did not. I am perhaps rare in my experience rather than an example of what is normal for Travellers. There needs to be more sustained encouragement to tell Travellers that they can pursue education and that it is not just for settled people. Education should be seen as being for anyone.