Ms Cathleen McDonagh Clark:

I thank the committee. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to the committee. I am here in my role as education and training service manager with Exchange House Ireland: National Traveller Service. Exchange House is a member organisation of AONTAS and I thank AONTAS for also highlighting the voice of our organisation specifically, and of educators working with the Traveller community more broadly.

I am passionate about education. My image of education is of keys to open doors. Education should, and must, be about unlocking human potential. When I say this, I do not mean that we will just unlock the potential of an individual, but that we can, must, and will unlock the potential of Ireland. It is a win-win situation for everybody.

As an educator working with the Traveller community and as a member of the Traveller community, I am speaking both professionally and personally. The challenges that this committee is exploring have been in existence for decades and yet have not been remedied - not without trying but still there is something missing. Educational participation rates and engagement in education remain low and this continues into employment, which has other serious consequences for many of our young people.

Together we must work to ensure that the opportunities - which is the key word - available to the rest of Ireland are available to Travellers. There are practical solutions available that we all know about in order that we see change.

The first is that funding for education and the wrap-around supports like childcare, transportation, and housing must be increased and spent. As mentioned by Ms Farrell, the report of the Joint Committee on Education and Skills on the barriers to education highlights that without the basic needs of a person being met, it is very hard for them to succeed in other areas. Looking at Maslow's hierarchy of needs, it is very important to be happy.

Second, we must acknowledge and address the history on our island of prejudice toward the Traveller community. We must work, as Travellers and settled people alike, to understand each other’s histories and place on this island. Without understanding our histories and ongoing discrimination that is too often based in fear or ignorance, we as educators and policymakers will not be able to believe in a different reality happening that allows for positive change. The only people that can make that reality is us and it is a win-win situation for everybody.

The third is that we must make access to education flexible and ensure that the educational opportunity is accessible and meets the needs of the communities we are serving. If we continue a system of education like we have, which is built around what makes sense on Marlborough Street and Merrion Street, then we will not succeed. We must build a system that unlocks doors for people and welcomes them inside and that always recognises the individual and what they can contribute to the community, society and our country.

I will finish now with a story of personal experience. I am a woman from the Traveller community. My parents instilled in me a passion for learning. As I grew up, I engaged with the education system and left school early, but went back to third level and did many different courses, which I will not go into now or we will be here all day.

Thankfully, my participation was supported financially. Without financial support from the State, I would not be here today and could not have afforded to have done it without it. However, the greatest barrier I faced was a system that did not see my potential. I was asked more than once why I was there. My greatest support were the people who did see my potential.

To have positive change in Ireland we need to see the potential in everyone, whether Traveller, settled, migrant, or otherwise. If we do not see and support that potential, we will do a financial and social disservice to ourselves and the country. Let this generation make a difference.