Malcolm Noonan (Green Party)

I agree wholeheartedly and have seen some of that working well on the ground in some early learning centres in my home town. Ms Baxter also addressed the issue of Traveller culture and identity. I welcome the work that has been done with the Heritage Council. In my previous role, I managed to put in funding for a Traveller inclusion and heritage officer within the council. The work being done there is exciting. We have asked the Heritage Council to present to us when that strategy is published. I must also acknowledge the passing of Tom McDonnell, who was one of the few remaining Traveller tinsmiths in the country. He passed away during the summer. I had the privilege of learning a bit from him during my time in office. He was a wonderful man passing on a fantastic and vital skill to young Travellers and to the wider community.

I really feel that celebration of Traveller heritage and Traveller culture given the music that Travellers have left to us, music that would not have survived. We were talking about the Fleadh Cheoil earlier. A lot of that music would not have survived were it not for members of the Travelling community. An awareness and understanding of Traveller heritage, culture and language is in itself a great leveller in the context of inclusion. I welcome that work is ongoing and it is an exciting prospect. I thank the witnesses for all of that.

I would be interested to hear more about the placement programme. It is a wonderful development, given the high levels of unemployment among the Travelling community. I would welcome such a project moving from a pilot into the mainstream. Is that the general idea of the approach the Government is taking?