Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

That was a time when working class kids were given an opportunity to avail of secondary school education. However, some of my peers and people in my year left after they sat the intermediate certificate exam due to pressure from their families to leave school and earn money. In fact, many of them became seamstresses. However, my Ma and Da made sure that I remained in school until I sat my leaving certificate examination. They wanted me to at least attain a leaving certificate, which I did, and then I commenced working in the public sector. We are not trying to reinvent the wheel in terms of education. This is a group of people who, like what happened to working class people in the past, were not encouraged to remain and continue in education. The State made a conscious decision because first it needed people for jobs but they had to have attained a certain level of education and it recognised that people needed an education. What is happening with Traveller education is a microcosm of what happened to working class people in the past. The tragedy is that 45 years have elapsed and education should never have reached this stage. This committee can put Traveller education on the agenda in terms of intercultural attitudes in all of the Departments, insist there is a change in mindset and secure funding for education.

My next comments are for Dr. O'Doherty and Mr. McDonagh. Pavee Point has repeatedly referred to the fact that the scheme of visiting teachers for Travellers was discontinued. The scheme had a very good impact on my community in Labre Park where a teacher visited the business school. The families also brought their kids to the school, ensured their children were enrolled and tackled all of the associated problems. Do the witnesses think that the visiting teacher scheme must be re-established? We will not get kids into higher education if they do not attain primary and second level education.

We are talking about higher education and apprenticeships. I agree with the witnesses that the one glove does not fit all and children need variety in terms of education. I recall the time during my schooldays that a sister of a friend of mine, who was an air hostess, visited the school. She told us about her job as an air hostess and how we could apply for such work on completion of the leaving certificate. Such an initiative should be introduced for the Traveller community. I mean that Traveller parents must be informed that their children, if they attain a certain level of education, can achieve certain things. We must also give a commitment to bring those children through. Only by doing structural things like that can we ensure we will not be here in ten or 15 years time talking about the same things.