Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This is a question of principle. I served as Tánaiste in the Government that recognised and acknowledged the ethnicity of Travellers. That was celebrated by all parties in the House. As Deputy Joan Collins mentioned, the all-party Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community has been established. It is a matter of recognising the significance of Travellers in Irish culture. The Minister of State just indicated that the Minister for Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht is responsible for the the budget. Will the Ministers, on behalf of the Government, apologise to Travellers for the fact that their colleague did this? She has form when it comes to Traveller housing and objected to such housing being provide in Mount Anville some time ago because the land in the area was too valuable to allow people such as Travellers to be housed on it. Will the Minister of State and the Minister for Justice and Equality apologise for this? This is what apartness and separation mean. Traveller artists are treated differently from other artists. I will not provide a list of such artists' names, I will simply draw attention to the achievements of Travellers in music, painting, art and the theatre in particular. Why did the Minister with responsibility for culture refuse to answer a perfectly valid question about Travellers and their culture when she is responsible for the budget relating to both?

This is a perfectly valid question about Travellers and Traveller culture. The Minister is responsible for that budget. I want an apology on behalf of the Traveller community.

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