Dr. Niall Muldoon:

I thank the Deputy. He has identified several areas where he believes the same issues are arising. I cannot argue with that. That is why we hope this will be a trigger event rather than a one-off report. It should be the start of something. It is not our role to follow through at the level proposed by the Deputy in terms of getting involved with the authorities or accommodation.

Our job is to present this report to the Oireachtas and to make sure that the political and governmental systems takes over. That is why we are pushing this with the political leaders. As mentioned by Deputy Ellis, action is needed to change the mindset of the local people and the politicians. The best way to do that is to have success, that is, to successfully move Travellers into the right systems, the right housing and the right safe, secure accommodation for the Travellers, which integrates well with wherever they need to be and provides for that nomadic lifestyle the Deputy spoke about. Whether the local authority with which we are engaged is to create a successful template that others can only or it is the first of many in a national initiative that is fine, but as previously stated by the former rapporteur for child protection, Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, in regard to Ireland, we have some of the best legislation, policies and procedures but we suffer from implementation disorder. As I see it, the legislation is strong and clear but the politicians are ignoring it. They are bypassing it. They are using the one piece, the veto under section 8, that allows the planning to be blocked. This is providing an opportunity for people to block progress. We need to look at that. The mindset will be changed if we can get a successful move in the right direction for a number of areas and start using them as examples. That will really make a difference.

The Deputy mentioned the DEIS schools. A great many schools are working hard to provide opportunities for these children. I have met many young Traveller children, in particular the girls, who are bright as buttons and as sharp as can be. They told me of restricted timetables and teachers telling them that nothing much is expected of them because they will leave school when they are 12. These children have ambitions that are not being fulfilled. They want to be doctors, lawyers, nurses and so on. The mindset of people around them stifles them as well. If we can make progress on accommodation, all of the other areas will start to grow as well and all of the opportunities will begin to broaden out in front of those children. We will be pushing hard for this particular investigation to be successful and for the recommendations to be fulfilled, which we hope Members of the Oireachtas can then use to drive forward overall change for the next five years.