Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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802. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will report on progress by her Department to date since the publication of Better Outcomes Brighter Futures, to fulfil Commitment 5.6 specifically in relation to Travellers as noted within that commitment. [17665/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People (2014-2020) was launched by Government in April 2014. This is a whole of Government framework, implementation of which is overseen by my Department. Individual commitments remain the responsibility of relevant Departments or Agencies.

While Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures is a universal framework which applies to all children and young people from birth to 24, it recognises that certain groups of children and young people face additional barriers to achieving their goals and aspirations in life. This includes traveller children and young people. Better Outcomes, Brighter Futurescontains a range of commitments to Traveller children, addressing issues such as health, education, and social inclusion.

In the case of commitment 5.6:

“Reduce discrimination and intolerance of all types experienced by marginalised groups (i.e. Travellers, Roma, migrants and asylum-seekers; children and young people with disabilities; those in care and detention; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young people; and those from ethnic or religious minorities).”

Lead responsibility for this commitment rests with the Department of Justice and Equality. The Department of Justice and Equality is also responsible for the development of the Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy which is nearing completion. This will be a whole of Government Strategy, and following discussions with Traveller representatives includes:- a coordinated and targeted response to the poor outcomes faced by Travellers in the areas of health, education, accommodation and employment,

- collaboration between Traveller organisations, local authorities and other stakeholders to develop understanding and respect for the valuable cultural heritage of Travellers

- embedding a consistent approach to the collection of disaggregated data across all administrative systems to monitor outcomes and inform evidence based policy

- ensuring that the specific needs of women and members of the LGBT community are taken into account to ensure the inclusion of marginalised groups within the Traveller/Roma communities

- design and costing of a sustained mediation and counselling intervention to eliminate feuding over a period of time

Furthermore in March 2017 the Government formally recognised that Travellers are an ethnic minority.

The State of the Nation’s Children Report (2014) includes a specific section on children in the Traveller Community on areas including nutrition, self-esteem, drug and alcohol use, family relationships, and feelings of safeness within community. The National Strategy on Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-making (2015-2020) contains specific actions to strengthen participation in decision-making by Traveller children and young people. My Department also provides annual funding to support specific projects which are targeted at young Travellers; and offer a wide range of programmes and services aimed at young people at risk and who are disadvantaged, due to a combination of factors such as social isolation, substance misuse; involvement in crime; homelessness; early school-leaving and unemployment.