Ms Eileen O'Shea:

The Traveller Visibility Group hosts the STAR projects in Cork city and we have enjoyed hosting them over the last three years.

Deputy Stanton referred to doing things in tandem and he is dead right. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw the digital divide but we also saw that for those living on a halting site or in overcrowded living conditions, it was extremely challenging to do schoolwork online. The role of the STAR education workers and home-school liaison officer was crucial in breaking down barriers. Accommodation is integral to the delivery and development of education outcomes for Travellers. Both aspects very much go hand in hand. Ms O'Donoghue is right that it is a larger picture and we need inter-agency and interdepartmental help to overcome this.

In terms of societal racism, I call for a national campaign to tackle anti-Traveller racism and build bridges in communities. The State has a responsibility to work on that.