Dr. Rosaleen McDonagh:

I am here representing IHREC. Within IHREC I am chair of the disability advisory group. IHREC has responsibility for monitoring and implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. When I was invited in, I wanted to see how I could merge the issue of Traveller accommodation and the rights of Travellers with impairments. Accommodation and disability in the context of Traveller identity have been very difficult. Lots of disabled children and adults are under severe physical pressure on top of their impairment. I will focus later on evictions and how that has affected not just family but how children with early childhood arthritis, respiratory pneumonia and bronchitis being evicted in such a manner adds to the trauma.

I have lived my entire life in a trailer in Sligo, Galway, Tullamore and other parts of the country. In my middle years, I still need to get support in light of what happened to me in one eviction. I am just telling the committee before I get into the nuts and bolts. As a commissioner, I feel bailiffs or anyone else who takes part in evictions of a settled person or a Traveller are just being morally wrong. They are morally wrong to evict someone from their home. That is where I am at.

I ask Ms Keatinge to speak and I will come back in in a while.