Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to call attention to the report on the Traveller community and homelessness that was finally released last week. The report makes for difficult reading. I wish I could say it comes as a surprise but we have seen too many reports like this before. My colleague in the Civil Engagement Group, Senator Flynn, has spoken passionately in this House about the unacceptable conditions our Traveller neighbours are still forced to live in. It is a deeply emotional subject for generations of Travellers who have lived in these conditions.How many more reports will it take before we see effective, transparent and comprehensive Government action? Senator Flynn said that an advocacy paper was also released alongside the report, which she thinks highlights the severity of the situation. There are such aims as reducing Traveller accommodation deprivation by one third by 2030, cutting overcrowding by half by 2030, and assuring access to clean tap water for 95% of Travellers by 2030. Senator Flynn said the Government must act immediately, as the aspirations towards a delivery for 2030 are simply not enough. She said that after nearly another decade of hard work this should not be the best the Traveller community could expect.

Travellers continue to be terribly over-represented in our homeless population. The report notes - and we know this - that all homelessness has severe, negative consequences on physical and mental health and for children's education. The cost of these Government failures is measured in Traveller lives. The costs are the physical, mental, emotional and communal health of people that have been decimated over years. We cannot allow it continue. Traveller children and families are worth exactly the same as all our family members. They must be valued in the same way. Would any Member here, who has a duty towards our collective society, honestly accept such a neglectful approach to the needs of their own family? We have a roadmap to address to this, if the political will is there. This report comes with very strong recommendations. These recommendations do not just outline what Travellers want, but they detail what Travellers need and deserve. This is not a Traveller issue, however. This is a societal issue and a collective call for a true, honest and transparent response. We have to learn from our mistakes, mistakes that generations of Travellers have had to pay for. We are talking about the most basic needs, such as access to clean water, heating, safe accommodation, access to potential private accommodation providers, and the elimination of overcrowding. Our aims, targets and timelines must be clear and it is on all of us to make this happen.