Mr. Martin Collins:

Before I respond to some of the questions, it would be remiss of me if I did not acknowledge a number of people here today who have been great champions of Traveller rights over the years. Senators Ruane, Kelleher and Ó Ríordáin have been consistent in their support in advocating for Traveller's rights. It is really appreciated. We need that support because we cannot take this journey on our own. It would be great if many more politicians showed some leadership and began to support and advocate for Traveller and Roma human rights.

We are beyond the point of having to prove or provide more evidence that Travellers continue to suffer oppression, exclusion and racism. We are beyond that point. There is independent evidence from the human rights commission, from the ESRI and from internationally recognised human rights bodies. Earlier, Senator Dolan asked what the core issue was and whether it was a lack of trust or what. Before we can begin to resolve the issues, there has to be an acknowledgement of and an agreement and a consensus on the core problem. This is where we need leadership as it has to be named. Without a shadow of a doubt, the core problem here is racism, at both the individual level and the institutional level. Sometimes our political establishment is complicit in perpetuating that racism. We see the manifestations of that racism. Ms Minnie Connors and others spoke about suicide. That is a manifestation of the racism. The poor living conditions are a manifestation of the racism. So too are the low educational attainment and the high unemployment rate. These are all manifestations of the individualised and institutional racism. If we are serious about addressing these issues, supporting the inclusion of Travellers, and respecting the human rights of Travellers, let us name it for what it is and stop pussyfooting around. That is one issue.

In response to Senator Ó Ríordáin on the Seanad seat, let us be realistic. It would be a good symbolic starting point if there were a Traveller in the Seanad, nominated by the Taoiseach or by some other means, but that on its own will not be a panacea. It is a good starting point. It will not resolve all the issues. We still need the so-called participative democracy, that is, the national and local consultative committees dealing with health, education, etc. Let us be realistic about that because when Traveller ethnicity was acknowledged on 1 March 2017, somehow or other an unrealistic expectation was created in the community that suddenly the symbolic recognition of Traveller ethnicity would resolve all of the issues that we face. That has not happened and it will not happen. In fact, the Travellers feel let down and disillusioned as a result because the recognition has not translated into rights on the ground for Travellers.

On the Seanad seat, I would agree with Senator Ó Ríordáin. Rather than leave it at the whim of the Taoiseach of the day, if it could be copper-fastened from a legislative point of view whereby it is guaranteed on an ongoing basis, I certainly would favour that option.

We do not want tokenism. That is absolutely not something we want. What is required is proper and appropriate support systems and structures to ensure that Travellers participating in the Seanad and Dáil can do so in a meaningful and significant way.

There are, of course, challenges and issues in our community. We are the first to say that when it comes to feuding, children's rights and LGBT issues. To be fair, Traveller organisations have gained the maturity, confidence and skills to be able to look at these issues and deal with them. Mr. Chris McDonagh is here from the Traveller Mediation Service and will speak about some of these issues later. To provide an example of the progress we have made, it is only a few weeks ago that we had at least 50 Travellers and people working with Travellers taking part in the Dublin pride festival. That would not have happened ten or 15 years ago. I am not saying it is by any means resolved, but that is an indication. We have a long journey ahead of us.