Mr. Brian Melia:

With regard to their role, if we are looking at supports, we were a DEIS school in 2010 and we are still a DEIS school. DEIS home school liaison supports were provided to us, as previously mentioned. The major resource we lost is 1.5 hours per student. This means the loss of a huge number of teachers in a school such as ours who served the Traveller community and served all children equally.

There is a barrier in further education in that the person has to self-identify as a Traveller. The work experience element is also an issue in that all students have work experience in further education. Whether we like it or not, there is a barrier in this area and, thus, a discrimination against Travellers entering the workforce and it needs to be addressed. It is fair to say that further education and apprenticeships are employment-led in providing employment for people. To pursue an apprenticeship, a person must be registered for an apprenticeship scheme.