Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas don Aire as a bheith linn agus cosúil le achan duine eile guím comhghairdeas leis as an bpost nua. Go n-éirí go geal leis ann. I welcome the Minister and, like other Senators, I congratulate him on his appointment.

I commend Senator Kelleher on the Bill before us on Committee Stage this evening. As all Members know, she is a strong champion of and advocate for the marginalised, disenfranchised and those who in many instances have been forced onto the fringes of our society. I stated last week on Second Stage of the Mental Health (Capacity To Consent To Treatment) Bill brought forward by Senator Devine that it and legislation such as this Bill prove what an active, experienced, committed and passionate Seanad with Members of the calibre of Senator Kelleher can do. The Bill appears to have the support it will need. This Chamber is a great platform for initiating and contributing to the necessary debates which must happen in the public arena.

As other Members have mentioned, events in the past 24 hours prove that when prejudice, nastiness and racism raise their heads in the public forum we must face them down, challenge them and ultimately stamp them out. On the side of St. Patrick's school on the Antrim Road in Belfast there used to be a quote which I think might be from William Butler Yeats: "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire". A Bill such as this has the capacity to do just that. Although we rightly recognise and appreciate the significance of the Government's recognition of Traveller ethnicity, very often in this House the Minister in his various guises will hear Senators stating that such recognition is all well and good but there being a need to resource it. This Bill seeks to affirm that expression by Government in a practical way and, while acknowledging that the statement of the Taoiseach was good, positive and welcome, asks what we are going to do about it. How will we realise that vision and expression in a practical and tangible way in Irish society?

My experiences are somewhat different from those of Senator Dolan. When I was a young boy in Belfast there was a Traveller site on East Bridge Street, close to my home, and another on the Glen Road near where I went to school on Bóthar Seoighe. There was a site at the Monagh bypass, close to where my grandmother lived in Ballymurphy. None of those sites remains. Although we have come some way on this issue at a political level and perhaps more so at community and grassroots level, and although it is possible that we have fallen behind slightly, we certainly have a significant distance to go to recognise and address it fully. While I do not want to sound patronising, we have a political responsibility to address the reasons which were far more eloquently expressed by Senators such as Senator Mac Lochlainn for the Traveller community having been pushed to the fringes of our society through ignorance, prejudice, hatred and, worse again, as mentioned by Senator Mac Lochlainn, the former institutional policy of demonising our Traveller people. The Bill can form a significant part of that attempt. Let us take this opportunity. It is to be hoped that the implementation and adoption of the Bill will go some way towards bringing a positive representation and reflection of Traveller culture and history to our schools, schoolchildren and students. It is crucial that we recognise that. Listening to the remarks of Senator Mac Lochlainn was an education for me in terms of a greater understanding of Traveller culture.

Along with appreciating the cultural practices, historical legacy and so on of the Traveller community, we must look at, understand, embrace, cherish and support the Traveller community that exists within our society and what they continue to bring to our lives, whether at community or political level. I have no doubt that is central to Senator Kelleher's intention in the legislation. It is to be hoped that there can be increased Traveller involvement in politics; perhaps we will have a Traveller Senator. The Government could affirm its intentions in this area by the Taoiseach appointing a Traveller to the Seanad. We need to understand, support, develop and invest in the Traveller people and their needs and requirements in 2018.

I do not wish to finish on a negative point. When I am blowing my top and flying off the handle, Mr. Jim Gibney who works in my office says to me, "Do not curse the dark; light a candle." This Bill seeks to light a candle, but I will curse the dark when Travellers suffer not because of ignorance but rather hatred or prejudice. While Senator Mac Lochlainn outlined the negative and shameful aspects of our history and other speakers probably did likewise before I entered the Chamber, we have a very proud history of facing down that kind of extreme prejudice. No matter where it emanates from or where we are, we should continue to challenge such prejudice. I will allow Senator Kelleher to light the candle and I will curse the dark.