Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The incident such as that which happened in Donegal should be viewed in the same light as racism. I am aware of another incident in my constituency involving people who were walking home to a refugee centre. On four different occasions cars drove by them and objects were thrown. This type of incident can lead to something much worse. Is there any way we can strengthen our anti-hate laws in order that we might address this matter? Time should be made available for a full debate on issues relating to the Traveller community in the Dáil. Traveller Pride Week takes place each year. We should invite members of the community to come to the Dáil for a day and we should see to it that a debate on Traveller issues will also take place in the Seanad.

There are a number of examples relating to how badly members of the Traveller community are treated. Dublin City Council's budget for the maintenance of Traveller accommodation was cut from over €1 million to €50,000. In God's name, how could the council be expected to carry out maintenance on Traveller accommodation across the entire city for that amount? There is sheer discrimination against Travellers. The leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil should take action against the councillors who made particular remarks. What was said was unacceptable.

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