Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 18 May 2021
Joint Oireachtas Committee On Key Issues Affecting The Traveller Community
Traveller Employment and Labour Market Participation: Discussion (Resumed)
Mr. Martin Ward:
Ms Costello and the other speakers have covered most of it. The recommendations are very clear. Anything is possible if the will is there to roll out the recommendations which have been put forward. We have showcased what can be achieved if opportunities are given to members of the Traveller community by growing a social enterprise from three staff members to 16 in three years. We have busted the myth that Travellers do not want to work. We have people knocking on our door looking for jobs every day of the week. The sad fact is that we have to turn them away because we cannot be the only employer of Travellers in Galway. We believe there is a lot of potential for jobs in the public service but there are also opportunities in public procurement, on which €20 billion is spent every year. If some of that was ring-fenced to ensure the delivery of social impacts, we would be well on our way to creating some jobs. Let us start with laying down some targets. These targets would be realistic and would grow year on year. As other speakers have said, we feel we have been overanalysed as a community. Many reports have been done. We are losing a great deal of time. A report comes out every three to five years. The statistics have not changed. It is not the community saying the statistics have not changed, but report after report doing so. As other speakers have said, it is time to get on with it.
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