Ms Maria Joyce:

The biggest support has been from international human rights bodies. We have seen it through the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, CERD, and other instruments to which Ireland has signed up. It has consistently come back and raised the issue of lack of recognition by the Irish State of Traveller ethnic status. No later than last week it was looking to see why the State has not recognised Travellers as an ethnic group. Those organisations have been strong allies, particularly in the past decade or so, because they have consistently asked the State why it has not recognised Travellers as an ethnic minority.