Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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251. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy and proposed legislation emanating from same. [41748/17]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the National Traveller and Roma Strategy was launched in June this year. Subsequent to the launch I chaired a meeting of the NTRIS Steering Group in August at which updates on the NTRIS actions and progress-to-date were discussed. I can report that already progress is being made on a wide number of the actions contained in the Strategy and that the steering group will publish an annual progress report in 2018.

At that meeting, a request was made for volunteers to establish three Subcommittees, to examine and report back to the Steering Group, on the specific areas of the retention of Traveller and Roma children in the education system, the need for an ethnic identifier for services to Traveller and Roma communities, and mediation to bring feuding in the Traveller Community to an end.

There are currently no plans to introduce any new legislation or to amend existing legislation emanating from actions contained within the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy.