Mr. Thomas McCann:

I thank the Cathaoirleach very much. This is an historic occasion to have the Seanad, I will not say taken over by Travellers but for us to have the Seanad for the day will be recorded in history as the first time this has happened. I think this is a very historic day. People will look back from another generation of Travellers, or two or three generations down the road, or the majority community will look back and will see that we were here for the day. Hopefully, it will be more than a day by the time we are finished, on the political side of things.

There have been many people within Government and across the political spectrum who want to see change for Travellers. We had, of course, the appointment of Eileen as Senator which is a significant shift in having a Traveller voice in the Seanad. We can see what happened as a result of that. We also have the establishment of the Joint Committee on Key Issues Affecting the Traveller Community.

Likewise, we have the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy 2017 – 2021, NTRIS, and the recognition of Traveller ethnicity in 2017. We also have the National Traveller Health Action Plan 2022-2027. The proposed anti-hate speech legislation will hopefully come to fruition and is very badly needed for Travellers. There are many other actions and programmes which have been implemented. We can see that there is a will to bring certain policies and strategies into being. However, even with the greatest efforts that have been made, much of this has not translated into actions on the ground for Travellers. That is the main problem. That undermines the political will that is there when these are not translated into actions that impact on the community. There are a number of reasons for that and for the systemic racism Travellers face in Irish society. We talked about accommodation and education earlier on and there are a whole number of obstacles.

The urgency of addressing the mental health crisis within the Traveller community cannot be overstated. The results of generations of exclusion, racism and inequality have and are impacting on the Traveller community and on the mental health of Travellers throughout the country. We are at a crisis which has been acknowledged by the all-party Joint Committee on Key Issues Affecting the Traveller Community, by previous Ministers with responsibility for mental health and by strategies which have been brought out.

This crisis has been persisting and developing over the past 24 years in particular. I say that because in 2003 Mary Rose Walker prepared a report showing that Traveller suicide at the time was three times higher than in the majority population. However, no action was taken as a result. Subsequent reports like A Vision for Change, the All-Ireland Traveller Health Study and numerous other studies have identified Travellers as being at high risk. We are now in a crisis situation with regard to mental health. This has been echoed by the concerns of the community across the spectrum and by others internationally. This crisis continues despite clear recommendations, including in the current programme for Government, which has a commitment to develop a national Traveller mental health strategy, as mentioned earlier. In 2017, research by Behaviour and Attitudes, a reputable communications and public relations company, showed that approximately 80% of Travellers are affected by suicide in their immediate or extended families. This is the current situation we have talked about recently. Calls for action have been made by the National Traveller Mental Health Network, by ourselves and others on numerous occasions, as well as calls by many politicians to implement a national Traveller mental health strategy. Questions have been raised in the Dáil but we still have not got to the stage where this is seen as a priority as a national strategy. It might be spoken about by others as a national strategy, but it is not prioritised as a national strategy. However well-meaning, the promises have not translated into meaningful change.

Meanwhile, the Traveller community continues to endure unimaginable suffering. One of the programmes mentioned earlier offered a glimpse into the community with the death of that young child. That is only a glimpse into the suffering of many families across the community. I will not say it is every day of the week, but nearly every week of the year there is a life lost. We really need to take stock of where we are and what is a priority in terms of family in the Traveller community.

That is not to take away from the many positive actions taken, the strategies that are in place and the proposals that have been made. Senator Flynn mentioned the education Bill, where Traveller culture will be in the curriculum. Hopefully, that will happen. They are really positive with regard to self-esteem. The Minister mentioned identity and self esteem and the part played by the arts and culture. I think that is important, but that self-esteem has been eroded by decades and generations of racism which has been internalised by the community.

As a community, we cannot afford to wait any longer. The time for action is now. How do we move this thing on? How do we change this? Mr. Bernard Joyce spoke about accommodation. It was not about the money because the money was never really spent. We need to tackle the systemic and institutionalised racism in this society in order to move things on. Otherwise, while we will hopefully be back in the Seanad again, we may be outside again protesting, as we have done many times, including late last year.

As I stand in the Seanad Chamber, I am sure, as representatives of the Irish nation, all of the people who set up this House from the beginning believed we would be in a different place at this stage when it comes to equality, human rights and inclusion. I believe the current Government and all politicians have an obligation and responsibility not just to settled people, but also to Travellers. I call on the Government to do what it said it would do. If it did that, we would be in a much better place. Travellers would be in a much better place if the actions identified and the policies put in place were implemented. We would be in a different place.

The capacity is there to create an inclusive country where Travellers feel valued and respected and where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential. We spoke earlier about a vision and a picture. Collectively we can get there, but we need to be committed and get on board to get that done. It is not only about resources, but making sure those actions take place. I hope the next NTRIS will be a vehicle for change and that we take on board the actions that came out of the all-party committee. I thank the Cathaoirleach and everyone else for having us here and at least allowing us the space to articulate some of the issues impacting on us.