Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have two very brief questions because we are running short of time. The idea of the horse project is a fantastic one and I applaud those in the industry who funded it. My first question is a practical one. Should this project be funded out of the horse and greyhound fund that goes into the horse and greyhound industry generally? Should it be considered as part of this? I was on an agriculture committee that looked at all the issues relating to the horse and greyhound fund. Should State funding be directly available and ring-fenced for this purpose so it could be done in other appropriate prisons? That is a straightforward question.

We know from independent surveys in society that Travellers are probably the group that is most discriminated against, and the most distant from society in general, if you look at all the ethnic identifiers across the board. Those who are doing the training with staff, therefore, have a challenge because there is an inherent bias that is already very prevalent in society. There is no point in us denying it; it is sociologically proven. Is there a challenge in training in that people might see those of other nationalities and ethnic groups as being more identifiable than Travellers when talking about racism? Is there a tendency not to see racism in quite the same terms when it comes to our own people in the Traveller community, just in relation to training? There is nothing wrong with recognising difficulties and saying we face a challenge. How much of a challenge is it that people might say they definitely know they should not discriminate against somebody of colour or whatever, but we know that in society that mentality does not often prevail when it comes to the Traveller community? Is this factored into training? Those are two different questions. One is for the Prison Service and the other I will throw to the committee.