Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Senator Flynn to the House. It is great to see her here and I hope it will not be the last time she is here. I thank her and the committee for the important and timely report. It includes 84 recommendations, all of which are important. There are many facts in the report as well, as has been mentioned by many speakers. I will not go back over them but they are important and it is good to have them on the record. Unfortunately, they are facts that no country, government or parliament should be proud of in relation to a large part of its community and how that community has been treated.

We have an obligation to make sure today is not repeated. I do not want to come here in five years' time and have another report. This week is the fifth anniversary of the declaration of Traveller ethnicity. We should be coming here today to launch a report on the progress and what has been done to achieve the rights of Travellers across the country. I hope in five years' time or less we will have a report like that. It would be a tribute to the work Senator Flynn has done in the committee and to everybody in this House if that happened. Sadly, I fear it will not but we will work to make sure it is. The onus is on the Government to put in place policies and make sure funding is provided. I know everybody on this side of the House will support that and ensure it happens. However, the Government has to be willing to do it and have the balls to do it. That needs to happen over the next couple of years. Hopefully, it will and when we come here next time, we will talk about progress rather than restating recommendations that have been said before. That will be vital.

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