Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

I wish to share time with Senator Liam Twomey.

I thank the Minister of State for providing an overview of the matter and an outline of the structures. We agree on the objective of promoting equality for the Travellers. The report has no measurements of the position in health and education nor Government targets for the next five years. There is greater recognition of the principle of equality and its application to the Traveller community. There is a greater recognition of the distinct cultural and social grouping the Traveller community constitutes. As a former Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council I have seen specific programmes such as accommodation and social inclusion programmes. There are good relations between bodies that represent the Traveller community at local authority level. The Minister of State has alluded to accommodation, one of the most fundamental programmes required to assist the Traveller community. These programmes are always contentious but local councillors have taken responsibility and have approved sites for Traveller accommodation in their local authority areas.

Fine Gael has stressed the need for acceleration of local accommodation plans of local authorities and access to the justice system. Discrimination and equality are essentially flip sides of the same coin. Promotion of equality is the correct approach to this issue rather than seeing it as a fight against discrimination. Positive support for education must be targeted, measured and precisely specified.

We do not have up-to-date figures for the health status of the Traveller community. The most recent figures show a higher rate of infant mortality and lower life expectancy for the Traveller community. These should be measured and we should be able to track changes and the effect of policies adopted and expenditures incurred to see if we are achieving results. The Minister of State referred to access to employment and the local authorities are to the forefront in providing young Travellers with an opportunity to access employment.

There have been many examples of serious criminal acts by members of the Traveller community, which reflect badly and unfairly on the community. These are isolated incidents and it is unfortunate if they stigmatise the whole community and set back the effort of promoting equality and recognising the need to support the community. Despite the difficulties and problems there is greater public appreciation at local and national level of the need to assist the community in promoting equality in health, education and employment.

With rights come responsibilities, which applies to the settled community as much as the Traveller community. The Traveller community needs to have a greater appreciation of its obligations to society, whether in upholding the standard of accommodation provided or having a greater appreciation of the rights of neighbours. There must be appreciation on both sides of the problems that arise when decisions are made on the location of halting sites or settled accommodation. Law enforcement is another issue. People in the Traveller community are victims of crimes committed by Travellers but that does not change the issue. I accept that this is a difficult area but we should not take a particular view in respect of it simply because Travellers are affected. The position is similar to that which obtains with regard to crime in inner city areas, namely, that it is other gangland criminals who are affected. I do not wish to make a comparison between the two but perhaps we do not take this matter as seriously as we should. However, I reiterate that an issue exists in respect of law enforcement.

As the Minister of State indicated, there is a need to build positive community relations and promote better understanding on both sides. Fine Gael is fully committed to furthering the principle of equality and the implementation of the latter within the Traveller community. My party supports many of the measures that have been put in place.

I commend all those organisations that work with the Traveller community. I have interfaced with some of these at local authority level and they do a wonderful job in representing the Traveller community and trying to provide the vital link between it and the authorities engaged in assisting it.