Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to introduce legislation to recognise Traveller ethnicity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54485/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I have no immediate plans to introduce such legislation, although, as I have indicated in the past, serious consideration is being given to the issue. I am aware of the long-standing wish of many Travellers that such status be granted, but there are some divergent views. I am also aware that the previous Government was of the view that Travellers were not an ethnic minority. Dialogue between staff of my Department and representatives of Traveller organisations has taken place in the past on the issue, for example, during the course of a seminar on the third State report under the Council of Europe Convention on National Minorities. In addition, earlier this year the National Traveller Monitoring and Advisory Committee, on which sit representatives of all the national Traveller organisations, as well as officials of the Department of Justice and Equality, established a sub-group specifically to consider the issue of Traveller ethnicity. Arising from the work of this group, among other things, a conference was held in Dublin Castle, supported by my Department. At this conference various aspects of the ethnicity subject were considered by a wide spectrum of opinion.

I remind the House that Travellers in Ireland have the same civil and political rights as other citizens under the Constitution. The key anti-discrimination measures, the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989, the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977, the Employment Equality Acts and the Equal Status Acts, specifically identify Travellers by name as a protected group. The Equality Act 2004 which transposed the EU racial equality directive, applied all of the protections of the directive across all of the nine grounds contained in the legislation, including the ground of membership of the Traveller community. All of the protections afforded to ethnic minorities in EU directives and international conventions apply to Travellers because the Irish legislation giving effect to these international instruments explicitly protects Travellers.

I inform the Deputy that consideration of this issue remains ongoing with a view to ensuring full analysis of all aspects of the granting of ethnic status to Travellers is available to the Government when coming to a decision on the matter. I expect to publish the report of the conference early in the new year.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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There has been foot dragging on this issue for a long time. Coming from the Traveller tradition - my mother and grandmother are Travellers - it is critically important that we define the rights and responsibilities of the Traveller community. This issue relates to their rights in terms of culture and their unique place in Irish society. When these have been firmly established and guaranteed, we can then deal effectively with the issue of responsibilities, as it applies to every citizen of the State. What consideration is being given to this matter? Is the Minister moving towards defining the Traveller community as an ethnic group within Irish society and has he been involved in consultations with the representatives of the Traveller community on the matter?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The purpose of the conference to which I referred was to allow for a wide exchange of views. I understand two speakers from the Traveller community spoke in favour of Travellers being identified as an ethnic minority, while one other spoke against this. Debate and discussion on the issue are ongoing. We must be careful that in taking this route we do not make decisions that will have unintended consequences. Other Departments are involved in the consultation process. It is hoped that when the report of the conference is published in the new year, it will lead to further discussion. I am conscious of the issues involved. However, we must ensure decisions are not made that separate Travellers from the wider community. All of the legislation to which I made reference, including the anti-discrimination legislation and the European Union directive which we have transposed in a specific way within legislation, has been designed to ensure Travellers are not discriminated as part of the wider community. An important question is what advantages there would be to the Traveller community being named as an ethnic minority. For example, there are particular difficulties within the Traveller community in that the estimated life span of Travellers is substantially lower than that of members of the settled community. The question that arises is whether a separate ethnic identity would bring about a change in this regard, or is there a need for other issues to be addressed? I am conscious that this is an important issue. However, I want to ensure it does not become a flag of convenience in that if a change is effected, the assumption will be that all is well with the world and there are no other issues to be addressed. I also want to ensure that if we go down this route, members of the Traveller community favour it and that it will not give rise to unintended consequences and create unexpected difficulties. This issues requires wide consultation with other Departments.