Mr. Christopher McCann:

I thank Deputy Mitchell. I am happy to take the question on evictions. In our fuller written submission we outlined the five different legislative mechanisms I was talking about. These are section 19(1)(c) of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994, section 10 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992, the Roads Act 1993, the Planning and Development Act 2000 and the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1948. Any of those can be used against a Traveller on the roadside and, as we pointed out, most of them can be used without needing to give any sort of notice or only 24 hours' notice. Consequences then flow from not abiding by whatever order or direction has been given, which can include prosecution or seizure of a caravan and the caravan being impounded. Our recommendations are quite clear. We think section 19(1)(c) of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 is particularly egregious and constitutionally suspect and we have recommended it be repealed. Our recommendation in respect of the remaining legislative mechanisms is that these should not be used in a way that does not give the person against whom they are being invoked the opportunity to receive legal advice and for the operation of the particular direction or order to have been reviewed by an independent tribunal, such as a court.

On the other questions, the Deputy asked how we can address discrimination in the private sector. As she said, Travellers are 22 times more likely to be discriminated against. There is law preventing it. The equal status Act prevents discrimination on the grounds of membership of the Traveller community. I reiterate our recommendation that extending the scheme of civil legal aid to cover quasi-judicial tribunals such as the Workplace Relations Commission would certainly assist a Traveller who has suffered discrimination to access legal representation and advice to challenge that discrimination. Others may wish to come in on the remaining questions.