Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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78. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills where Traveller history and culture is included in both the primary or secondary school curriculum; and his plans to improve this situation. [20528/14]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Intercultural Education Strategy, published in 2010, has moved Irish education in the direction of embracing and teaching proactively about Traveller culture, and other cultures, in Ireland. The Intercultural Education Strategy was influenced by the Report and Recommendations for a Traveller Education Strategy published in 2006. Inclusion was a core principle of that report as was the provision of an education that affirms and supports Travellers and their culture.

The Irish Traveller Movement initiated the Yellow Flag Programme. It is a programme of equality and diversity for both primary and post-primary schools which promotes and supports diversity. In the past few years, the number of schools in the Yellow Flag programme has been growing steadily with my Department's encouragement. Ireland also became a full member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2011. This body helps to promote respect for nomadic cultures through raising awareness of the extermination of European groups like the Roma and Sinti, as well as of the Shoah against Jews.

The greater flexibility anticipated in current curricular reforms will also support schools, teachers, and students in engaging with historical and cultural studies which relate in a meaningful way, to their own interests and backgrounds. At primary level, schools are expected to provide a broad and balanced curriculum that reflects the interests of their pupils and the school's context. The importance of promoting interculturalism within the school is also highlighted by this DES. The Primary Curriculum 1999 is complemented by Guidelines on Traveller Education in Primary Schools (DES, 2002) and Intercultural Education in the Primary School (NCCA, 2005). These guidelines promote an intercultural approach in the classroom and provide practical examples of how intercultural themes, including Traveller culture, can be accommodated through the various curriculum areas.

The Framework for Junior Cycle which I published in October 2012 has eight principles - one of which is inclusive education - whereby the educational experience is inclusive of all students and contributes to equality of opportunity, participation and outcomes for all. Inclusion in all its forms, including Travellers, is a key component of our primary and post-primary education.