Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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111. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the allocation for the special initiative in respect of Traveller employment for the past five years; the allocation for 2020; the amount spent on each project; the number supported by county and year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52290/19]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, in June 2017, the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy 2017 – 2021 (NTRIS) was published. The Strategy represents a whole of Government approach to bring about meaningful change and progress for the Traveller and Roma communities in Ireland. It brings together Government Departments and Agencies along with representatives from both the Traveller and Roma communities to bring a focus, in a structured way, to the issues which affect them most. I chair the quarterly meetings of the NTRIS Steering Group, which held its most recent meeting on 16 October 2019.

One of the key strategic themes of the NTRIS is Employment and the Traveller Economy. This theme aims to increase employment, training and apprenticeship opportunities in the Traveller and Roma Communities. In this regard, the Special Initiative for Travellers (SIT) focuses on job-ready Travellers and supports their access into employment and enterprise development.

SIT is a free service, which is funded by the Department of Justice and Equality. The initiative focuses on meeting the training and employment needs of members of the Travelling community. The attached table outlines the funding allocation and the expenditure for the SIT from 2015 to 2020.