Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)

I reiterate what I said earlier, namely that I have serious concerns around the violation of the human rights of Travellers. That is not just my opinion; it is the opinion of many monitoring bodies. The European Commission on Social Rights found that Traveller rights on accommodation are not in line with the European Social Charter. The Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities found that the provision of culturally appropriate accommodation for Travellers remains a major issue. National and international human rights bodies have serious concerns around Travellers' rights to accommodation. The failings on the part of the State in this regard are very serious and need to be addressed. From what I have heard so far tody, I do not get a sense of the urgency required to address some of these serious human rights violations relating to Travellers.

On budgets, when the witnesses go back to the Department and say that budgets are inadequate, what is the response?