Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Boyle for sharing time.

Undoubtedly, the Traveller community is afflicted by serious issues. Senators all have their own experience of the issue of Travellers, particularly at local government level. I recall that as a young councillor in the mid-1970s I and others championed the cause of a few Traveller families in our area. As a result, three Traveller families were housed in one housing allocation. One was an elderly couple who moved into a house and were probably not given the support they needed to manage, having previously lived in poor conditions in a caravan. Nonetheless, the move resulted in a sea change in their quality of life. The second family were not given support either and proceeded systematically to dismantle a large part of the house for firewood. This was a reflection on the manner in which we managed some of these issues, albeit a long time ago. Some of those who speak eloquently about rights and so forth are not as active in offering support when it becomes necessary to provide additional services which are essential to the well-being of families.

Shortly after moving into the house the third family accommodated in the scheme bought up a large number of other properties in the area. This conditioned me to ask whether families being housed had the necessary resources to provide their own accommodation. This is an ongoing issue because the travelling community, like the settled community, includes very wealthy people and people who require support. It is not always easy to determine the group to which a person or family belongs.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that only 22% of the 7,691 Traveller families in the State do not live in houses. This is a significant achievement as it is fair to assume that a significant proportion of those living in caravans on halting sites, both authorised and otherwise, refuse offers of housing because they want to maintain their nomadic way of life. Every effort should be made and pressure should be applied to change this way of life because in many cases it is not good for the health of children. Many health problems can be ascribed to poor accommodation and a lack of education. Even within the settled community it is accepted that people in the higher socioeconomic bracket tend to look after their health and, as a consequence, have longer life expectancy and enjoy better health.

There is also an educational element to this debate. I welcome the prioritisation of pre-schools in the Traveller community. Frequently, parents in the Traveller community do not have an education and consequently do not pass on to their children the important message that education is a priority. Pre-schooling is an important consideration in this regard. Senator Twomey mentioned a scheme in place in New Ross. The VECs have undertaken some tremendous initiatives in this area, doing great work for children and in the area of adult education and literacy.

I applaud employment initiatives for Travellers, particularly the Civil Service internship programme for Travellers which has given members of the Traveller community work experience in the Civil Service. As a result, they become more attractive and employable for employers in the private sector. More work should be done in that area.

I fully subscribe to Senator O'Donovan's argument on the issue of involving Travellers in sport as a means of offering a way to integrate in society. It also offers networking opportunities which open up avenues to education, employment and other areas that may not be available to Travellers.

I will spend some time discussing the issue of crime.