Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)
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Tá céad míle fáilte roimh an toscaireacht agus tá áthas orm go bhfuil sí in éineacht linn inniu. Is mian liom buíochas a ghabháil léi toisc an cur i láthair a rinne sí.

I sincerely thank the representatives for a professional, reasoned and measured presentation which I am sure all members found very informative. I have had experience during the years of dealing with council officials who did their very best to do what was right, not only for the Traveller community - I do not want to make distinctions - but for all sections of society. The representatives are right to protect their culture and identity. Very often the Traveller community does not get the credit we as a nation owe its members for the work they have done in keeping our culture alive. When the Cashes, the Dorans and other members of the Traveller community travelled from fair day to fair day and community event to community event, they brought with them, as educators, their traditional music, which they passed to others. Traditional music would not enjoy the status it has in Ireland or among the diaspora were it not for the distinctive role played by the Traveller community.

It is important that we realise that members of the settled community are very often responsible for anti-social behaviour. I will not mention towns either, but I know of streets in certain towns where members of the settled community have caused havoc and their neighbours have had to complain and the appropriate authorities have had to intervene. Likewise, if members of the settled community cause major damage involving great cost, often running into millions of euro, we do not tell the rest of the members of that community that we cannot help them. That is from where I start in my response to what I have heard. I fully accept what the officials are saying and know the difficulties they face, but this is bigger than a local issue. It must be raised to a national level because to a degree there is still racism in the country, about which there is doubt. It is not simply a matter of being afraid of who one's next door neighbour will be; often one does not know anything about the person coming from the Traveller community. The person concerned could be exceptionally industrious, have leadership material and so on. Those who have such a mindset, without knowing the family involved, suggests to me that to a degree there is racism, which is not right or acceptable. We must revisit this issue urgently.

On the issue of unspent moneys, I accept what the officials have said about the efforts they have made and the money that has been spent and so on, but the unspent moneys - 70% to 80% of the allocations made - cannot be left floating in the air because if there was a similar situation in providing accommodation for members of the settled community, there would be an outcry. The Traveller community are very much part of our society. I wonder if a suggestion could be made by the committee to the effect that this issue should be reviewed at Government level or by one Department and that information could be gathered independently. I must compliment Pavee Point on the report which is excellent and very helpful, but if we need an independent report, we should seek it and raise the issue to that level. In other cases where delegates have appeared before the committee, we have revisited issues and examined what progress is being made. Some of the representatives have been exceptionally passionate. Why would they not be as this issue affects their lives and those of their children and future generations? It would be good if they did not feel this was a talking shop exercise. We should allow for a number of months, during which we could receive reports from all councils and identify the issues involved.

Where councils have difficulties I am not trying to underestimate those as I have had dealings with officials down through the years who bent backwards to do their best. The gentleman on my right is correct that there should not be a row. If we are to help the Traveller community to get their rights - that is all they are seeking - we will not get them by confrontation but by being seriously committed and focused on finding a solution. We should not be disillusioned as huge progress has been made in many areas and should be used as a foundation. However, we need to look higher than the local authority to assess precisely the situation. By all means, take this report and what we have read in the newspapers on board, and listen to the Traveller community again and to the officials. The way in which the representatives have assembled the facts and put them forward in such a measured manner is a good start arising from today's deliberations.