Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

For too long, Travellers have been viewed as a problem by some in Irish society but I am so pleased that we here celebrating Travellers as a people.

Every report that was commissioned in the early days focused almost entirely on the negative, most notably the Commission on Itinerancy Report in 1963. Traveller groups and activists have long advocated a new platform for their people, a recognised place for them in the Irish family, in the Irish nation, not a separate ethnicity but a distinct ethnicity within the Irish nation.

It has been a long road and one that for groups such as Pavee Point, the Irish Traveller Movement, the National Traveller Women's Forum and Minceirs Whiden there were times when there was a temptation to lose faith, but they never did. They believed in each other, in their people and that the process would succeed. They believed also that the much maligned political process would deliver for them, and it has.

The Labour Party is proud to have played its part. A motion calling for the recognition of Traveller ethnicity was passed by our national conference in December 2013. I remember the passionate contributions of Martin Collins, Catherine Joyce and Brigid Quilligan on that occasion. We supported the all-party justice committee report on Traveller ethnicity, with Senator Ivana Bacik being one of the most vocal supporters.

As Tánaiste, I appointed my colleague, Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, as a Minister of State to address this issue and to work with the community, among other things. I can only say that he put his heart and his soul into progressing the recognition of the community. He is in the great tradition of Irish teachers who have worked with the Traveller community and given all of those who have gone on to do well in education their start, supported by the mothers and the fathers of the families. As Minister of State, Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin brought the issue to the point where all Departments, one by one, supported the move. In our hands it went from a lobbying call to the unanimous backing of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Social Inclusion.

I recognise and welcome the statement made by the Taoiseach. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy David Stanton, in particular, who has brought the issue to the floor of the House, for which he is to be congratulated. I know that he has met regularly Senators Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Colette Kelleher, in the best tradition of parliamentary bipartisanship, to keep the focus on the greater goal. Today, that goal is realised and all of our politics is enhanced.

Let us commit to mending the wounds of the past. There are people in the Gallery who I have known, on or off, for 30 or 40 years. I hope that for them tonight is a vindication of all of the different wrongs people experienced at different times.

We have a new start now in terms of tackling real issues that affect members of the Traveller community and their relationship with other communities. All of us have a responsibility to be leaders in our communities and for those in political office, that means an end to the distribution of racist literature or literature that stereotypes and typecasts people. None of us is perfect and in our own way we are all wonderful also. We have to live and let live. That is absolutely critical.

I salute all of the people in the Visitors Gallery, many of whom I have been privileged to know over the years. As I grew politically, I have seen them grow in enormous strength and confidence. They have been able to tell everybody, whether in government or in Departments, what is the right thing to do.

I thank in particular the people who were teachers in the Traveller community over the years such as Roddy Day in Corduff and in Blanchardstown and also the people who worked in the parishes of the Traveller community. It is not much more than a year since the awful fire and in all of those ceremonies, when people were being laid to rest, we saw all of those gifts that the Traveller community has when tragedy strikes to comfort other people.

I congratulate all those people in the community who have taken leadership roles. I hope this debate will formally mark the start of new opportunities, particularly for the young people in the community. I have had many conversations over the years, particularly with mothers who have fought so hard to persuade their children to stay in school, particularly the boys. All of us here should commit to try to ensure that people stay on to do well and be happy in primary school, to succeed in secondary school and, if it is their wish, to go to college, gain an apprenticeship or become a trainee. I know from the successes people in my constituency have had that it is possible to do that.

As Nelson Mandela said, in the end, it is all about young people and it is all about education. I hope these statements tonight will give the young men and the young women in the community their opportunity.

On my behalf and that of my family, I thank all the people in the Traveller community for all the music they have brought us and all of the culture and knowledge, as has been said, and all the songs and tunes they saved. We speak about people in the United States bringing it all back home to Ireland, but in fact the Traveller community kept so much of our musical heritage in Ireland. As we move into a new phase this is something we will surely continue to celebrate.

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