Dr. Rosaleen McDonagh:

I ask the Chairman to accommodate my contribution speech by letting me have an extra moment. There are two points. The first is the lack of the use of ethnic equality identifiers. The local authorities are still not using these in full. This is evident in what Ms Gibney said earlier. Those identifiers are important as they also allow Travellers to freely identify their ethnicity. In recent years, we have seen other communities, such as the gay community, flourish and become part of Ireland's fabric of diversity. There is still a stigma in terms of not wanting to have Travellers live in certain areas. That does not only apply to social housing but also with regard to whether Traveller-specific sites are allowed to be built.

I mention how far we as a country have moved. It does not really matter. We have all sorts of legislative practices but the problem, specifically around accommodation, is the lack of implementation.

The evidence suggests that this is not happening. I echo the Chair, Senator Flynn. Other communities have had the social mobility to achieve, whether it is a leaving certificate, a new job or being able to move up to senior Civil Service level. Our community has not had that. One or two of us have. That is not enough to implement change. We do not have the social network within those environments for someone to open the door or lower the ramp to pull a Traveller up. It is worrying that in 2021, we still have to deal with the old NIMBYism where people see Travellers and say not in our backyard, not in my cul-de-sac and not in my area. How do we expect a cohort of Traveller children, including deaf and disabled children, to progress in education when they are living in cars, as Ms Gibney said? People are shocked when they hear about people living in cars. Those cars do not have toilets. They are not caravans, mobile homes, camper vans or holiday places. These are environments where there is no place to wash, to go to the toilet or to have something to eat. People make out that there is a facade that somehow we have all moved on and that Ireland has moved on, since we have gay marriage or equality legislation. We have not moved on. Our community is still bound to the old Traveller accommodation.