Dr. Rosaleen McDonagh:

I thank the committee. I am delighted to be here. There is systemic and endemic racism towards Travellers and where there is racism, there is poverty. Where there is poverty, there is disability, illness and long-term ill health. My contribution comes from a lifetime of experiencing racism as a woman with a disability. I have lived through nine evictions of our family and I have lived on four different sites, each of them known as temporary, despite us living on them as a family for over eight years in two or three of them. On those sites, issues of maintenance, water access and toilet facilities were a constant worry. There was a lack of refuse and postal services, along with lack of a combination of other services. There was a constant threat of closure and eviction from those sites, which only exacerbated mental health challenges and threats to our physical well-being.

As a woman I know the gendered aspects not only of racism but its combination with other issues. I have watched mothers, children and fathers trying to manage in very difficult circumstances. Some mothers have had cancer, multiple sclerosis or other progressive and degenerative conditions. Children have sound and vision impairments and there are young adults who are deaf and who find it extremely difficult to access services because their accommodation needs are not being met. These are often the hidden stories behind Traveller accommodation issues.

I am very constrained about what I can say because, as the commissioner, Ms Gibney, points out, we are waiting for responses from 31 local authorities. I will make a few comments, if that is okay. There should be an overarching acknowledgement of racism in the matter of Traveller accommodation. It is real and not imagined. There is no use in using words like "discrimination", "oppression" or "othering" as they do not quite capture what has been happening over the past 30 years.

The make-up of local Traveller accommodation consultative committees needs to be subject to more transparency. I know very well that organisations, both local and national, have played a part but there is also a mandate from within the community. I am not sure what the criteria are for settled people or their organisations to get on those committees. I ask for transparency in looking at who is on those committees, what their mandate is and where that comes from.

If the Chair indulges me for a couple of minutes more, I will speak about leadership. Over my life in Traveller politics, I have seen the incredible work and uncompromising commitment from Traveller activists, including women and men, teenagers, older people and those of us in between. When called upon, we have played our part and taken responsibility. That was particularly evident in recent times with matters arising from Covid-19, with community health workers demonstrating tremendous commitment to the safety of our community, particularly children and those of us with disabilities.

This leadership always feels one-sided, however, and I call on local councillors, politicians and young, vibrant and dynamic settled people looking for a new and more equal relationship with Travellers to show leadership and try to make a new history. This new history should mean an issue like Traveller accommodation should not hold us back in every other area of our lives.

My first input on Traveller accommodation was back in 1995 with a task force on the Traveller community. I am really disappointed that nothing much has changed. The make-up of committees may have changed.

Reports may have become more sophisticated in how they are written but one thing has not changed, that is, the lives and living conditions of my community, the Travelling community.