Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I understand what Dr. Alexander is saying but he is not talking about an ethnic identifier. Having worked with national Traveller organisations, I know this is something they are looking for in both primary and secondary school. Obviously it is a matter of choice. It is up to parents to decide if they want to clarify their child's ethnicity but it is not very clear to the Traveller community that the option is there for them to do so. It is also not very clear to Traveller organisations. Organisations like the Irish Traveller Movement or Pavee Point have been seeking specific information on young members of the Traveller community in education but since 2012, when I began working for the Irish Traveller Movement, that information was nowhere to be found. I appreciate what Dr. Alexander has said and look forward to working with him in the future. We need to be really clear around the identifier so that we can have accurate data not just on Traveller children but on children from other ethnic minority groups. Ireland is a very multicultural country now and we need to know how many children from different ethnic backgrounds are in schools and potentially at risk in schools. I thank Dr. Alexander for that update.