Mr. Martin Ward:

We believe that social enterprise is part of the solution but we are talking about jobs in the hundreds when the Traveller community needs thousands of jobs. Social enterprise is part of the solution and breaks down many barriers. We have first-hand experience because we went into homes to deliver the warmer homes scheme to the fuel poor across Galway city and county. In the beginning, homeowners said that they would not allow Travellers in to complete the work because there was that much racism and discrimination against the community. However, we had the full backing of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, which was a positive action measure so there was no tolerance. So if a homeowner made racist or discriminatory comments towards the community we had the backing of the SEAI because we were on the panel of contractors and delivered a 100% pass rate and quality on the work. For us, as a team, that gave us an awful lift to believe that we had the backing and such weight behind us that there was going to be no tolerance. Before that, we would have probably shied away from the work and viewed the scheme as a challenge. A homeowner talked about going on the radio and the whole team was deflated because we believed we were going to be out of the jobs and were never going to be able insulate a house in Galway. That backing was a very positive action by a contractor.

A number of calls should be made for community services programmes, with Travellers taking them up across the country, and the special initiative for Travellers. That was key for us in the beginning, to look at the development work, at mainstream and public sector jobs, and at the roll-out of social enterprises. None of the Traveller projects is resourced to take this on right now, which is a pity. The peer-led primary healthcare model was such a success during the pandemic, with people being reached out to, connectivity on the ground, and working with Travellers to bridge them into the services. We would definitely call for the special initiative for Travellers to be housed in the Traveller projects.

Many of the supports right now are for an individual changing, but even if an individual makes all those changes and upskills, it still does not result in a job. That has a ripple effect back in to the community. We are such a small community. If Martin goes the whole way through college and it does not conclude with a job, people will say that it has been a waste of Martin's time, because even though he is well educated, he is still not in control to change mindsets. It is a case of no tolerance, starting with the public service and the social enterprise model, because then we can start to break down so many barriers and go after the public sector. It has been well-supported at Government level, so where are its inclusion and diversity policies for Travellers?