Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

If the Minister of State wants me to be constructive, I will oblige him. I notice he has got into the habit of checking his text messages during the contributions of Opposition Members. I will try to prevent him from doing so by speaking up somewhat.

It is estimated that the level of diabetes among Travellers is double that which obtains in the settled community. There are also major problems with regard to alcohol consumption and infant mortality within the Traveller community. The measures that work best are those which afford Travellers respect. For example, the HSE runs a programme in New Ross on which young Traveller women are taught about basic parenting issues, such as how to look after children, how to check their temperatures, how to recognise when they are ill, etc. These young women are taught by other Travellers, not officials of the HSE, doctors or nurses. Travellers are of the view that this is an excellent programme.

Travellers want accommodation and access to health care. We could work hard towards achieving what they desire in respect of these issues. Some of the organisations representing Travellers, especially those at national level, are inclined to be of the view that they are above the real issues relating to the Travelling community. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform outlined that clearly when he criticised an organisation regarding the way it conducted itself in respect of the Roma gypsies on the M50. The majority of Traveller organisations, especially those at local level, are working for the interests of members of the community they represent. The Minister of State should work with them and he might arrive back here in ten years' time with a programme that achieved some success. He must admit — I ask him not to insult my intelligence in this regard — that the programme relating to the previous report has not worked well, despite the amount of money spent in respect of it.

The Minister of State must also be realistic with regard to the current position. He referred to the Equal Status Act. To some degree, the latter occasionally drives a wedge between the settled and Traveller communities. Certain individuals chose to abuse the provisions of the Act in an attempt to get away with engaging in criminal activity and anti-social behaviour. If we are going to protect the decent, honest members of the Traveller community, we should speak to them in realistic terms and not patronise them. We should highlight what is succeeding and what is being done right. However, we should be honest when things are not working out. We must also not be afraid to indicate when we witness behaviour which is not becoming of a civilised society.

I must be critical of the Minister of State in respect of another point, namely, when he said "This should not mean that Travellers have to sacrifice their own distinctive culture and traditions." On each occasion on which a society is radically changed — our society has undergone such change in the past 20 years — there will be changes to its culture and traditions. The position is the same for the Traveller community. Travellers acknowledge that there will be changes to their culture. The Minister of State should not insult them by making comments such as that to which I refer. He should state that there will be changes and that we can all learn to deal with them as they happen.