Eileen Flynn (Independent)
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I apologise. I am late due to another commitment this morning. I met Ms Heavey and her team from Community Law and Mediation and people from FLAC a few weeks ago to discuss issues that have an impact on the Traveller community around accommodation and from a justice perspective. This committee is dealing with accommodation, health, including mental health, education and employment at the moment. However, a big issue on the ground is that of Travellers in the justice system. The representatives from FLAC and Community Law and Mediation are here to speak about accommodation and the issues Traveller have. However, I feel we have a justice system that is for the few rather than the many within Irish society. Many members of the Traveller community are in many cases very nervous and afraid of going to court for petty crimes, if you like. My definition of a petty crime would be breaking a red light or someone's motor tax being a few weeks past the renewal deadline. Ms Anne Costello of the Travellers in Prison Initiative did much work at national level gathering evidence of how Travellers are - I will not say ill-treated - but judged on the basis of being members of the Traveller community instead of being judged for crimes that were committed or actions that were taken. I wanted to say that for the record.

As I said yesterday at the disability committee, it is difficult for everyone to get accommodation now through the private rental system, but it is even more difficult for members of the Traveller community because of the level of racism and discrimination. They are judged straight away with the stereotypical ideas about Travellers not keeping houses clean. This also happens to migrants and refugees. That type of racism and discrimination exists. Do the witnesses deal with many members of the Traveller community who face discrimination when it comes to the private rental sector? What can we do to tackle that? In the same way a landlord cannot just kick people out - it happens, but there are rules and regulations that notice is needed for an eviction or tenants need to get a new house if they are required to move - we should have rules in place that landlords cannot discriminate against people because they have a disability, are a member of the Traveller community or are people of colour. I would like to hear the witnesses' opinion on what can be done.

How can we make housing around justice better? I see Travellers and settled people, people from the general population, on the ground who struggle. We have a housing crisis. Even in the context of this committee, someone would have to be a member of the Traveller community to really understand the level of discrimination, ill-treatment and hatred Travellers have to go through on a daily basis. That includes in respect of accommodation. I do not believe the services are available. I am delighted that FLAC and Community Law and Mediation are before the committee today, because we do not speak about the level of discrimination that Travellers face. I know this is not what the witnesses are here to speak about, but if Travellers are put out of a public house - they are called public houses because they are for the public, but they are not for Travellers - there is no support for them to take a discrimination case. We should be long past that.

I took numerous discrimination cases before I was a Senator and it is like pulling teeth because of the system. The case goes through the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, but Travellers are discriminated against. There are many avenues, but they do not deal with the situation of discrimination if you bring a case. In 2012, the pipes burst in our kitchen. My father was dying of cancer at the time. We needed services, so we had to go to the Traveller accommodation emergency line. I saw that as discrimination, that there was an emergency line just for Travellers to contact. I took a case to the WRC. It went on for four years. I decided not to take it any further because I did not have the money or the energy to do so. In 2018, I was refused access to a pub in Lucan. I brought that matter to court. Again, it was through the WRC. Gary Daly, who is a brilliant solicitor, took on the case without charge. He does a lot of work in the area of human rights and equality. The case went on for two years. I was six months pregnant with my first child, Billie, and the judge said to me that I did not look like a Traveller. As a result, he threw out the case. Again, I just gave up. What is the point? There is no safety net - there is no net at all, never mind a safety net - for Travellers to take cases against discrimination and racism. Without services like FLAC and Community Law and Mediation, genuinely Travellers would have nowhere to go.

I missed some of the opening statements unfortunately, but I will look back over them later. I am aware of the work FLAC and Community Law and Mediation do. What can we, as a committee, do collectively? What do the witnesses think is needed? I think we should give Travellers access to free legal aid to allow them to take discrimination cases. I do not know whether that is the answer. The opinions of the witnesses as professionals is very welcome on issues they see on the ground that they have not yet had the opportunity to speak about and that they would like to address at the committee.

I thank them for coming . I am sure we will cross paths as the committee evolves in the next few years because we will look at Travellers in the justice system.

I know that I go on about this but I am passionate about getting it out there that every single day, even as this committee is talking right now about the racism and discrimination that Travellers face, a Traveller woman in a shopping centre somewhere is stopped by security or followed just because she is a member of the Traveller community. I have been followed numerous times in shops. Now I have the tools to address it but for many members of the community that level of intimidation has a big impact on their self-esteem and well-being. When you walk into a shop you think you are going to be followed. You lose your train of thought and forget why you went into the shop. This has happened to me numerous times. Travellers should not have to feel like that going into a supermarket, a pub or whatever it may be. We need to move forward as a society and as professionals.

I would appreciate some feedback on those questions. For the committee, this is about the little wins and what we can do. In this place, we do not know from one minute to the next what is around the corner. It would be brilliant if, before this Dáil term ends, members could have recommendations from the witnesses to this committee, which we can then start to act on.