Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will comment on some of Senator Chambers's statements on scaremongering when it comes to climate change. That is not Senator Higgins's intention. We are afraid of what is happening in the Bill around climate change, especially for poor communities.

Let me be blunt. Having spent all weekend reading the Bill, I must say this is a Bill for one group of people: white, settled rich people. It is unfortunate, given it was four years in the making, that it does not include people with disabilities. Nor does it include members of the Traveller community, which has been failed for the last 20 years under the TAP programme. We talk about aggressive and personalised language. I am a member of the Traveller community and work for people who have disabilities and who expect me to speak up on their behalf. I called a vote today and it was unfortunate the Government did not vote with us on the UNCRPD. That is evident for people with disabilities to see. The organisations will be back in contact with their local Senators. I welcome that and I support the organisations to get in contact with their local Senators and tell them that if they support disability rights, the proof is in the pudding. I will be calling another vote on amendment No. 105 and, again, the proof will be in the pudding. In this Chamber, Members either support people with disabilities or they do not - end of story. They either support the UNCRPD or they do not.

I do not have to speak for hours on my amendment. I will get straight to the point. We have failed members of the Traveller community for decades regarding accommodation. Our amendment No. 99 talks about having a stand-alone Traveller strategy, which Traveller groups have sought for years and the expert group on Traveller accommodation called for in 2019. It is not me calling for it, but members of our community.

It is unfortunate it is the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, in front of me today because I have great time and respect for him and see him more as a friend than a colleague. I am playing a broken record. I am always the one to talk up about Travellers but we continue to fail and fail.

Senator Higgins rightly raised the sustainable development goals. There are still some people in this country who do not have access to running water. We should be ashamed of ourselves. People do not have adequate access to accommodation. I am speaking in an angry manner because I see people in the Labre Park halting site living in horrible and dire conditions. In rural Ireland, I am dealing with a young mother, a member of the Traveller community, who has been shoved into a one-bedroom apartment under HAP.

If you are a member of the Traveller community, you are a black person. You automatically will face racism when looking for rented accommodation. There are so many barriers that I have not even mentioned. I am only on amendment No. 99.

The sustainable development goals aim to move the people at the end up to the front. Senator Higgins's points regarding climate change are very important. She is right that we do not talk about it enough and we do not have solutions. We most definitely do not have the green solution about which the Minister of State's party talks so often. I absolutely beg him and his officials to accept our amendment No. 99. It is extremely personal to me. Having been born and reared on a halting site, I have seen nothing but failure from the State. Nobody is held to account. At a meeting of the Traveller committee last Thursday, I asked the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, who is held responsible for the lack of implementation. His reply is on record for everybody to read. He said the responsibility lies with the local authorities.

In the case of the Traveller accommodation programme, TAP, the associated committees are the only committees county councillors are not paid to attend. Many councillors participate just to disrupt plans and stop Traveller accommodation from going ahead in their locality. However, there also are a lot of councillors who mean well and want to see Travellers thriving and being part of their communities. Amendment No. 99 relates to the stand-alone Traveller accommodation agency. I get it when people say this is not personal. In fact, it is personal. It is personal for people representing members of the Traveller community and trying their very best. It is personal for me when I sit on the disability matters committee. I spoke at that committee about how the park in Ardara, County Donegal, has no swing for children who are autistic. That is a very basic human right. It is very basic that children should have access to play facilities in our parks.

Amendment No. 105 seeks to ensure accessibility and inclusive facilities under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Saying people have a choice to live independently means absolutely nothing if we do not provide accessibility and inclusion facilities. I gave just one example of a play area for children with additional needs. We are talking about supports that enable and empower people to be themselves. I will call a vote on amendment No. 105. People in representative organisations are listening to this debate. I do not accept gaslighting and being told this is not personal. I say again it is very personal. Traveller children with additional needs are living on halting sites with no ramps for accessing trailers and no proper facilities. It is extremely personal. I encourage my colleagues to vote in support of disabled people and people from the Traveller community, who are too often left behind in all planning and development legislation. Whether in regard to housing or whatever else it might be, we are always the communities that are left behind. Now is the time to put us up front and support us. I ask colleagues to put their money where their mouth is.