Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also listened to Deputy Barry's speech and his appeal that we respect free speech. I point out to him that hundreds of Irish citizens felt it was acceptable to log on to thejournal.iewebsite and give a thumbs-down to expressions of sympathy, including a simple "rest in peace" and "my heart goes out to the families" from decent Irish citizens about the fact that ten human beings - ten Irish citizens - including five children and a pregnant woman were burnt to death in the most horrific circumstances. Hundreds of our citizens gave a thumbs-down to expressing sympathy. Deputy Barry says we need to stop using the word "racism". It reminded me of one of the greatest advocates of equality and human dignity in human history, Abraham Lincoln, who once said, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt".

We support the amendment tabled by Deputy Boyd Barrett which strengthens the motion and reflects Deputy Boyd Barrett's commitment to the Traveller community and his partnership with them. However, we will not support the Government's amendment. In reference to the Traveller community we use terms such as "experience endemic racism and discrimination"; the Government will not use those words. We use words such as "prejudice", "discrimination" and "social exclusion"; the Government will not use those words. We state that many Travellers live in "intolerable substandard living conditions"; the Government will not use those words.

We called for an all-Ireland Travellers forum. I wish to read the relevant part of the motion because it is an important contribution in terms of what we seek. We seek to "establish an all-Ireland forum involving Travellers and the settled community, including representatives of all political parties, central government, local authorities, health and education sectors and representatives of media organisations, to be tasked with", and we outline the responsibilities it would have. It is an eminently sensible proposal but it has been rejected by the Government.

The motion also calls on the State to "recognise" Traveller ethnicity. We did not use the word "grant" because Travellers are an ethnic minority in the State. They are as Irish as anybody in these Houses and they are a unique part of the fabric of this nation. They have a unique history. It is a unique story that is part of our story and it needs to be recognised. To recognise Traveller ethnicity is not to recognise separateness, it is to be inclusive, to bring them into the embrace, warmth, love and promise of the Republic. That is what it means. We in this Chamber need to recognise the ethnicity of the Traveller people. What we hear in response from the Government is that it will consider it. That is not good enough. It is no longer good enough to consider the matter anymore.

The leaders of the Traveller community have called for a new national Traveller accommodation consultative committee or some new agency that will take ownership of the delivery of Traveller-specific accommodation throughout the State. Local authorities have failed in this regard. There is a lack of local leadership. We have seen some of that spirit evident in the Chamber tonight. In the absence of local leadership, we need to give responsibility for the issue to a new authority but that call has been rejected.

I wish to quote from some of the comments made last night by the Minister of State, Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, and Deputy Ciara Conway, both from the Labour Party. It is important to do so. The Minister of State said:

I do not accept the premise that we should deal in the terms of popular opinion when advocating the rights of a minority. Outside of a referendum, I do not believe we should deal in focus group equality or that we should rely on polls in regard to how we should proceed on issues of equality. The fact that advocating for the rights of a minority might be unpopular is surely the reason we should collectively strive to ensure that equality is realised.

[He continued] As alluded to earlier, since the foundation of this State we have experimented with what may be termed "sameness". Sameness is a lie. Since the foundation of this State people with mental health challenges have been incarcerated. Approximately 200,000 people with mental health issues were incarcerated in the 1950s. Young mothers who were unmarried were told that they were wrong and had to be placed in laundries. People who had troubled backgrounds and behavioural difficulties were also told that they were wrong and had to be sent to industrial schools ... Sameness is a lie while diversity is the truth ... The fact that this measure would not be popular, would not do so well in a poll or might be rejected by a focus group is the very reason we have to support it. Let us reject focus group equality.

The Minister of State's speech was tremendous and we applaud it. We also note the comments of Deputy Ciara Conway. This is important in terms of her Government colleagues who will vote for the amended Government motion tonight. She said:

I have read some of the briefing information I have received from the Department. I could hear the frustration in the voice of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin. It will be noted that he did not read from a script because I am not sure the Department [or indeed his Government colleagues] [are] completely on board with what he had to say.

She referred to the briefing note she received in which three steps were outlined. That is a reference to the three simple steps the Oireachtas justice committee agreed on a unanimous, all-party basis for the Taoiseach or the Minister for Justice and Equality to stand up in this historic Chamber and recognise, on behalf of the State, the ethnicity of the Traveller people. The second step is to write to the international human rights bodies who have demanded this for decades to tell them we have finally done that, and then to work with the Traveller communities on the necessary changes and new dispensation that is required. It is simple stuff.

Deputy Conway also stated:

Essentially, we are waiting for someone to make a speech and someone else to write a letter, while people's lives hang in the balance. That is simply not good enough. If it involved any other group in society, we would not be waiting for someone to stand up and make a speech and for somebody else to write a letter.

These are powerful words. If those Deputies are present, I imagine they will vote with the Government. They will do so even though they have expressed their frustration and anger, in good faith, with their Government colleagues. I will not attack them for that but I will say to those Government colleagues who did not speak in the Chamber, or the likes of Deputy Tom Barry and others, that they need to read what the Minister of State and Deputy Conway said, what we have said and what has been said by various Deputies across the House, namely, that it is time to be on the right side of history.

When we first talked about women's rights - the right of women to take seats in parliament, the right of women to go out and work and to receive equal pay - those ideas were unpopular when they were first raised. When we talked about rights for the LGBT community, lesbian and gay citizens, it was not popular. We know that talk of Traveller rights tonight is not popular. That is because for decades there has not been the necessary leadership. We are haunted by the ghost of the 1963 report from the Commission on Itinerancy, one of the most shameful reports in the history of this State, that demonised and criminalised 40,000 Irish citizens - men, women and children - some of whom are here today. That is the stain we must remove. That is the ghost we must take away. We need to have a new beginning.

In the seats of the Gallery are the leaders, the men and women of the Traveller community who have spent their lives as second-class citizens in this State and who have been denied the promise of the words of the 1916 Proclamation. During the 100th anniversary next year, let us bring them all back into the Gallery to watch their Taoiseach or Minister for Justice and Equality, whoever that might be, finally, belatedly, recognise their culture, their dignity, their beauty, their humanity, their contribution and their part in our history. That is a day I long for, and we will see it.

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