Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Today's meeting is our second public meeting on Traveller accommodation. On behalf of the committee, I am delighted to extend a warm welcome to our witnesses from the Office of the Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Niall Muldoon, Ombudsman for Children and Ms Nuala Ward, director of investigations.

On behalf of the committee, I thank Dr. Muldoon for his report, No End in Site: An investigation into the living conditions of children on a local authority halting site, which was published in May 2021. The report is hard to read, especially when one hears the testimony of the children about their living conditions.

The committee is concerned that if Traveller community accommodation is not addressed satisfactorily then Traveller health, education and employment will also suffer. The committee has received letters from primary school principals about the difficulties faced by Traveller children that has been made worse by Covid-19.

We can see from the report that poor accommodation is having a detrimental effect on Traveller education. If Traveller community children today do not get a chance of an education, then another generation will suffer the same fate as many of their parents. The committee is very interested in the ombudsman's report, his recommendations and his plans to look for six-month and 12-month updates from local authorities, which is particularly important. The committee is looking at the role of local authorities in the provision of housing, particularly halting sites for Travellers. The report, in terms of the halting sites, will be of great help to the committee.

I suggest that Dr. Muldoon makes an opening statement that lasts between five and ten minutes. Then each member will have the opportunity to ask questions and they will have about five minutes for questions and answers. However, members may come in a second and third time, as appropriate.

I invite Dr. Niall Muldoon, Ombudsman for Children, to make his opening statement.