Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for making time in the House today for this historic and symbolic recognition of Travellers as an ethnic group within the Irish nation. Robbie is a 17 year old young man, the apple of his mother's eye, his future is ahead of him and the world is at his feet, yet he walks with his head down. No more. His mother, his family and his Traveller community want Robbie to feel the same sense of hope and opportunity as every other young person in this country. So do I. So does this Dáil, this House of public representatives. Today's statement of recognition of Travellers as an ethnic group will go some way to ensuring Robbie and his entire Traveller family have a better future with less negativity, exclusion and marginalisation.

As the House is aware, the Traveller community has for many years campaigned to have its unique heritage, culture and identity formally recognised by the State. In this State, Travellers make their contribution as gardaí, doctors, members of the Defence Forces, prison officers and in other occupations, so there should be no surprise that a person can identify as Irish and as Traveller. This is a deep and personal issue for many Travellers. On 6 February last, I invited representatives of the main Traveller organisations to the Cabinet committee on social policy to discuss the matter with the Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, Deputy Stanton, and other senior Ministers. They said it took 30 years for a Government to listen to them across the table. The representatives spoke passionately about how this strong message from the State would be a very important symbolic and positive step in acknowledging the uniqueness of Traveller identity. They felt it would resonate strongly among the community and help counter the stigma and shame felt by many, particularly young people, and increase feelings of respect, self esteem and inclusion.

I was deeply moved as members of the group spoke of their own personal experiences, including their personal hopes and dreams for their children to live their lives and fulfil their ambitions. We all want the same for our children, namely, to grow up and thrive in a society where we are all free to be who we truly are. No one should have to hide their religion, sexual orientation, race or culture to be respected or even accepted in society. As we discussed at the meeting, there are also darker elements across society that challenge the law of the land that must be tackled. The Traveller community is not immune from that. I hope that today will create a new platform for positive engagement by the Traveller community and Government together in seeking sustainable solutions which are based on respect and on honest dialogue.

That recent engagement and these statements from all party leaders in the House will further help generate mutual recognition and respect between the Traveller and settled communities. For some time Ireland has implicitly recognised Travellers as having a distinct ethnic identity. We have done so by reporting since 2000 to the Council of Europe on the situation of Travellers in Ireland in our periodic reports on the Council's Framework Convention on National Minorities. We have also done so by reporting on the situation of Travellers to the UN and the Council of Europe in our periodic reports on the main international conventions and monitoring bodies against racism. We have further done so by explicitly naming Travellers as a protected group in equality legislation.

Since the 1980s, Pavee Point, together with the Irish Traveller Movement, the National Traveller Women's Forum and Mincéirs Whiden have campaigned strongly on behalf of Travellers. They have worked hard with the community to improve living conditions, promote health and education and access to services. They have sought to empower Travellers and have not been afraid to help them address some of their own internal challenges.

The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, is also finalising a new national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy which will be published shortly. The inclusion strategy is intended to bring about important changes to the lives of the Traveller and Roma communities in Ireland. The campaign for recognition of Travellers in Ireland as a specific ethnic group of the Irish nation, with its own unique heritage, culture and traditions has of course been part of the discussions for the new strategy. It does not surprise us, in the context of relationships and self identities within the island of Ireland that a person can identify in different and sometimes overlapping ways. We recognise as part of the Good Friday Agreement that a person can identify as Irish, Northern Irish or British and that this self identification can vary with greater emotional commitment to one or other element depending on the circumstances. Under the same Good Friday Agreement, we formally recognise the identity of people of Ulster Scots heritage, including in the three Border counties, and we support the development of their unique heritage and culture, without prejudice to their equal citizenship in and loyalty to this Republic.

Our Traveller community is an integral part of our society for over 1,000 years, with its own distinct identity - people within our people. It a great privilege for me to be the person that has the honour of making this statement. I acknowledge the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, at the Department of Justice and Equality and the national Traveller organisations who undertook substantial work to bring clarity to the debate, and all of the other public representatives who have assisted in any way in the work that brought us to this point. Together, we agreed that recognition of Travellers could have a transformative effect on relations between Travellers and wider society, and will create no new individual, constitutional or financial rights. Because, of course, Travellers already enjoy all the human rights and responsibilities that are afforded all people under the Constitution and laws. The acceptance and implementation of those rights and responsibilities has to work both ways in order for society to function effectively, inclusively and with mutual respect for all citizens.

We recognise the inequalities and the discrimination that the Traveller community faces and has faced and have a range of special programmes and interventions to help deal with this. The development of the new national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy will build on this. Mar sin, mar Thaoiseach, aithním go hoifigiúil gur grúpa eitneach é Lucht Taistil na hÉireann. As Taoiseach, I now wish formally to recognise Travellers as a distinct ethnic group within the Irish nation. It is, therefore, a historic day for Travellers and a proud day and a day of maturity for Ireland. Lá iontach tábhachtach é seo do Lucht Taistil na tíre. Lá dár saol, mar a déarfá. May all the people of our nation live in the shelter and never in the shadow of each other. Or as the good Traveller man taught me how to say in Cant, this is a borradh táileasc for the mincéir.

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