Ms Maria Joyce:

That would certainly be interesting for us as well. We have highlighted a few areas that it might be particularly useful to ask Tusla some questions about. I am not saying everyone in the agency is biased. That is not what we are saying here. However, where there is bias, whether conscious or unconscious, underpinned by historical and contemporary racism, there will not be better outcomes for the community. That is what it boils down to. We are not for a second saying that a child who is at risk should be left at risk. What we are saying is that there is that Traveller children are grossly over-represented within the care system. To put this in context, minority groups across the globe, whether Aboriginal people in Australia, Mori in New Zealand, Roma across Europe or minorities in the US, are always over-represented in care systems, prison systems and youth detention centres. It is no different for Travellers. The blame for that is not on the community itself but on the systemic institutional racism and discrimination that imposes a system that does not reflect or respect that community.