Ms Bridget Kelly:

I thank the Deputy for his comments and agree with him. Education is very important for all our children, whether Traveller or settled. Nevertheless, due to the circumstances a lot of Traveller families are in, as we have all touched on, we could stay here for a month talking about the accommodation issues because things have got a lot worse for our community and it is at crisis point. I agree the accommodation issues need to be addressed urgently.

It is important there be a better understanding of Traveller culture. I do not think there is political will, and some local authorities are holding back on the delivery of Traveller accommodation. As we all outlined, we have seen year in, year out the failed delivery of targets within Traveller accommodation plans, which is having a negative impact on our community in regard to education. More Traveller children should be in education, but their living conditions prevent them from progressing in that regard.

Moreover, 82% of the Traveller community are unemployed at the moment. Those statistics are stark. There are myths out there suggesting Travellers do not want to work, but they do want to. Travellers want the same opportunities as anyone else. Likewise, with the mental health crisis, we see Traveller women living in appalling conditions and experiencing racism and discrimination daily for being a Traveller woman and for living in appalling living conditions, which has a detrimental effect on their mental health and well-being. Their suicide rates are 11 times higher than in the settled population.

Traveller accommodation needs to be addressed and the Minister needs to take a leadership role and deliver on it. I know the Department will say it has exceeded the Traveller accommodation budget, but when we ask for a breakdown of how many new builds of Traveller-specific accommodation have been delivered, we cannot get an answer because there are no new builds of Traveller-specific accommodation. The Department seems to be zoning in on the existing sites that have been there for years and are being refurbished, and on social housing. Some Traveller families want to live in social housing but there are other Traveller families who, if they were being given a mansion on a hill, would not want it because they want to live on a site or in a bay. That is their belief, and if that is where they want to live, that is their choice. The local authorities should be open to that and they need to wake up and start providing Traveller accommodation. As I said, the Minister needs to take the lead on this. Until such time as the targets are implemented, we will not see change. Even so, we are not going to give up and we will keep fighting.