Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

It is one of those areas on which I would like a further debate.

The Minister stated the decision was made previously. We all would accept that in the past there were difficulties in Traveller education but there was a section of the Traveller community, particularly involving women, that was moving forwards in leaps and bounds. One of my difficulties is that the Department had targeted two thirds of the cuts at teaching posts for Travellers. Fr. Derek Farrell stated it was staggering that the Department had targeted this area.

The difficulty with the removal of these teachers is what will replace them. The Minister can argue that the service will be mainstreamed, etc., but the Traveller community has special needs. Despite the fact that some of the groups that operate on their behalf would say that Travellers should be mainstreamed, Travellers need extra resources due to their lifestyle, the conditions in which they live and what happens within that community.

The Department has done away with these posts. What will replace teaching within the Traveller community? That is the debate that needs to take place and it will not happen in two or three minutes here. It is the big debate in this area. In my view, it is like throwing the baby out with the bath water. The Department has put them all out and that is it, as if it is now resolved. It is not resolved. In fact, rather than improving matters, it will disimprove them. Rather than the position getting better, it will get worse in those schools not only for the Traveller children, but also for the other children.

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