Ms Latisha McCrudden:

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I am 19 years of age. I am among the 1% of Irish Travellers who go on to third level education and I have nearly completed my first year in my law degree. I believe I have done well for myself in my education journey so far, having got all As in my junior certificate, a distinction in my transition year programme and the points needed in my leaving certificate to study law in the University of Galway. I have engaged in a vast range of extracurricular activities, including the BT Young Scientist exhibition, Gaisce, SciFest, the climate ambassador programme of Ireland, green schools, the John Paul II award and the student council.

My school experience has not been as fulfilling and enjoyable as it should have been. As a Traveller girl in school, I found it a very lonely and isolating place the majority of the time. I have been subjected to isolation, bullying, racism and discrimination, with very few to no consequences for those who projected this experience upon me. Some examples include having derogatory terms said to me by fellow students, such as the K-word, with no consequences for their actions. I know that if this type of language was used against another minority group, there would be repercussions, as there should be, but the same respect is not given to Travellers. Throughout my 15 years of schooling so far, I have not once been taught about my Traveller heritage or culture. I did have to study a short story for my honours-level leaving certificate Irish class that projected Travellers in not a positive light. I have been isolated and left out in school due to the morals and values I have for myself and what has been instilled in me while growing up. As an Irish Traveller in the school sector, I found you had to have a large amount of willpower to keep going due to the way you are made to feel. This is not how it should be. Travellers should be supported, uplifted and encouraged to continue with schooling and to reduce the statistics of being a minority among a minority when they continue with education.

I live by the words of the late Martin Luther King: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”. Unfortunately, a lot of things that should matter in education for Travellers are not taking place. There are a vast number of barriers for Travellers in education that need to change now and not later.

These include the elimination of barriers as a whole in school practice by taking account of the need for pupils' cultural identity, language and values to be upheld and visible in the environment and not just be imaginary. Resources and supports need to be supplied at individual level to enable Traveller pupils to participate across school, transport, books, uniform, digital aids, additional teacher and after-school supports and access to assessment and early intervention where needs are identified. The incorporation of anti-racism training and a Traveller cultural plan for teachers is needed as part of continuing professional development, CPD, and at entry level. There also needs to be a time-lined action plan to deliver the curriculum components attached to the Traveller culture and history which were promised to us in 2020 by the Government. This needs to include teacher training for the delivery of those.

For Traveller children and young adults to continue in education, support and opportunities must become equal. Traveller youth should not feel fear and worry that if they go on to third level education and get a degree that they would be turned away from jobs due to their identity, which is happening currently in our society. Of the percentage of Travellers who are employed in Ireland currently, the vast majority are employed by Traveller organisations which does not encourage the younger generations of Travellers to continue in education.

Additional supports and opportunities must be put in place for current and upcoming generations of Travellers around reading and writing, as when Traveller children go home in the evening to do homework their parents may not be able to read or write to the level they deserve, due to the early drop-out rate for previous Traveller generations in education. This automatically puts children from a non-Traveller background at an advantage compared to Traveller children.

For a real change to come in the bullying, racism and discrimination that takes place against Travellers in school, our culture, heritage and traditions must be embedded into the school curriculum. There also needs to be consequences for derogatory terms that are used in schools against Travellers, such as the K-word, "tinker" and "pikey", as these are not words that should be said to children and young adults without repercussions for those who use this racist and discriminatory language.

For generations, society has viewed Travellers as one, and not as the separate individuals we are. Our heritage, culture and traditions could add a lot to society if people wanted to learn who we are as people, but instead they discriminate, isolate and judge, even if they have had no encounters with Travellers. Traveller children want to feel valued and respected and be in a fair environment, something that should come automatically. Travellers want to go on and become members of An Garda Síochána, solicitors, doctors, nurses, vets, Senators and youth workers, just like many of us already have. We have been changing as a community and progressing over time and it is now time for society as a whole to change and progress with us so that Travellers are just as much a part of society as everyone else is. Traveller youth are just as much the present and the future of this country as the rest of Ireland’s youth, but the Government and society need to realise, acknowledge and support this sooner rather than later.