Mr. Bernard Joyce:

I thank the Chairman for his questions. In general, young people can feel very removed from the political system. That can relate to the make-up of our Parliament and the fact that here are not many young people in the Dáil. In terms of young Travellers, the potential is there in terms of confidence, engagement and participation but more times than not they are not asked to engage. When one talks to Travellers in their homes and their caravans one finds that they have strong opinions about what is happening around them and what structural changes they would like to see. A significant amount of work is required to bring the political system into a new age that is reflective of the society it represents. At the moment, it does not reflect society. There is potential and there are many different initiatives underway but those initiatives are not really engaging young Travellers.

The Irish Traveller Movement is developing a national youth participation strategy because we do not see young Travellers participating in the spaces they should be in. Young Travellers are further disadvantaged within the Traveller community. They are not engaging and they are not being asked to engage. Being here and being part of this process allows me to raise issues on behalf of the Irish Traveller Movement, which is really important. I see this as a good initial step but would love to see a lot more happening in terms of the key recommendations from today.