David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for raising this important matter. We both acknowledge that the Traveller Community National Survey is a timely and valuable resource. I have read it a number of times. It covers a range of important issues affecting the Traveller community.

As the Deputy will be aware, last June I launched the national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy for the period from 2017 to 2021. I am sure the Deputy has a copy of it. If he does not, I will arrange for a copy to be sent to him. The steering group, which I chair, was established to oversee the development and implementation of the strategy. This group is made up of officials representing relevant Departments and agencies, as well as representatives from the national Traveller non-governmental organisations, NGOs. The strategy contains ten themes. Grouped under these, 149 actions were identified as necessary to help to advance the betterment of the lives of Travellers and Roma in Ireland. To date, work has begun on approximately 100 of the actions. Accommodation is highlighted as a priority for Travellers in both the strategy and the survey. The 2018 capital provision for Traveller-specific accommodation is €12 million, an increase of €3 million on 2017. Further funding may be considered throughout the year, also on a case-by-case basis, in light of progress across the programme generally.

Regarding education, the national strategy contains 14 key education-related actions. While improvements on education outcomes for Travellers as opposed to five years ago are reflected in the 2017 national survey, I am well aware that much more needs to be done, and is being done, in this regard. In fact, a sub-committee of the national strategy steering group has been established to deal with the issue of retention of Traveller and Roma children in education. At its most recent meeting, a proposal was jointly agreed by my Department, the Department of Education and Skills and Tusla to implement a pilot project on this issue in four locations with high Traveller and-or Roma populations. Tusla's education welfare service, comprising the statutory Education Welfare Service, the school completion programme and the home-school community liaison scheme, are key supports for Traveller children.

Earlier this year, the Department of Education and Skills published the DEIS Plan 2017. The plan includes specific actions relating to Traveller and Roma education to promote improvements in school attendance and completion. It should be noted that the Department of Education and Skills continues to provide a number of specific additional resources to support Traveller and Roma children in the school system, including: 141 alleviation resource teacher posts for schools with significant numbers of Travellers and Roma at a cost of €8.46 million; and additional pupil capitation for Travellers and Roma, at a rate of €70 per pupil for primary level and €201 per pupil for post-primary level, at a cost of €1.11 million.

The outcome of the first strand of the programme for access to higher education, PATH, funding was announced by the Minister for Education and Skills in April 2017 and €2.7 million will be allocated through PATH 1 over the next three years to support initiatives by centres of teaching excellence to increase diversity in the teaching profession. Through the PATH 2 1916 bursaries fund, €6 million will be invested in bursaries for students from target groups, including Travellers, over the next three years. Each bursary will be worth €5,000 per year and may be held in addition to a Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant. The PATH 3 higher education access fund is intended to support regional clusters of higher education institutions to attract 2,000 additional students, full-time or part-time, from groups currently under-represented in higher education, including Travellers. A total of €7.5 million will be allocated over the next three years through the PATH 3 fund.

Turning to access to employment, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection operates a wide range of employment supports. While, in general, the Department's measures are available to Travellers on the same basis as the rest of the population, community employment has special provision for members of the Traveller community.

Traveller health is also a priority area under the national strategy. Examples of targeted support programmes include funding of a range of Traveller agencies and groups to implement priority programmes and actions via service level agreements, such as primary health care projects, counselling services, family support programmes, men's health projects and so forth. In addition to funding to agencies for the delivery of Traveller health programmes, the HSE employs a number of public health nurses and related staff to address priority health needs of members of the Traveller community. In addition, the National Office for Suicide Prevention funds Exchange House Ireland to address the mental health promotion and suicide prevention needs of the Traveller community. Nine mental health service co-ordinators are currently being recruited by the mental health division of the HSE with the aim of driving, managing and supporting implementation of agreed Traveller programmes and actions in respect of Traveller mental health.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has allocated approximately €500,000 to support several projects specific to Travellers nationwide on the basis of proposals received from local authorities regarding developing facilities for the urban Traveller horse population.

A great deal more is being done, and it needs to be done.

See this speech in context