Mr. T.J. Hogan:

To echo what Ms Sherlock and Mr. Reilly stated, there are five and six year old Traveller children in primary school who are not asked what they want to be when they are older because there is an expectation that soon after they enter secondary school, they will leave in any event. We need to change the culture within the education system and how Travellers are viewed therein because it can have a severe knock-on effect on confidence, not least when a child in fifth or sixth class is asked to make a decision as to which secondary school he or she will attend. It does not matter to the Traveller child because by second or third year, he or she will want to leave. If a five or six year old child says he or she wants to be a firefighter, garda, solicitor or doctor, he or she should be supported in doing so, but unfortunately our education system excludes Travellers to an extent and does not give the appropriate supports, as we all know.

At the tail end of education, many more Travellers come through secondary school, but that is not necessarily good. More Travellers are now illiterate after finishing secondary school than ever before, a category I fell into. I have dyspraxia and dyslexia but that was not picked up until I entered third level education or even thereafter. We promote third level education but some people who graduate cannot find meaningful employment unless they are within Traveller organisations. I do not how many CVs I have handed out to State organisations without hearing anything in response. The only meaningful employment I have ever had was with non-governmental organisations. That is not a good message to send to any Traveller, given the time and commitment it takes to attend education and sit exams and the stress that causes. Moreover, a person must take a break if he or she wants to start a family, particularly in the case of women, and that can cause stress.

We must encourage Travellers to stay in secondary school, because otherwise it will be a significant barrier. We cannot promise there will be jobs for them because the likelihood is that if they want to go into business or to the private sector, including anything apart from community development or social care, they will be on social welfare when they leave third level education. That is not acceptable and we need to examine it strategically to support Travellers and to challenge the barriers of discrimination and biases. Many positive aspects are emerging from our community but they are never highlighted. It is always negative and we always have to explain what people in Longford or from a different culture do, even though I am from Cork. We are all tarred with the same brush and employers see that. We just need to be given a chance, which can be done through pilot schemes. Targets need to be met.