Ms Jeanne McDonagh:

I want to echo what has been said by Deputy Joan Collins. There have been too many reports and it really is the time for action. We need very pragmatic, practical steps to be taken to ensure involvement in employment, if that is a person's choice, obviously. As was pointed out, many within the Traveller community have no expectation of success. It is up to us to instil confidence and create the expectation that they can achieve what they wish to achieve, whether it be a career, progression or whatever. It needs people to come together with very practical solutions and with learnings from other areas, such as the disability sector and the disadvantaged youth sector, because there is a commonality between all of the groups. What has worked for one, with a tweak, can work for another. There have been real success stories. It is very important that that success is transplanted onto different groups and helps them as well.

I am very passionate about this. A great deal of talking has been done for many years about the Traveller community and it is really important that it is now actioned. The recent report by the St. Stephen's Green Trust gives a real call to action and contains some really practical solutions. It is not beyond us to come up with a programme of work that can benefit these communities.