Written Answers. - Traveller Community.
Finian McGrath
Question:
1348
Mr. F. McGrath
asked the
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
if the Government will investigate examples of good practice in the way other EU countries treat their nomadic groups; his views on whether we are now facing a crisis in society that is creating a massive gap between Travellers and the settled community; and his further views on the fact that accommodating difference and respect between each group is the only way forward.
[15778/02]
The task force on the Travelling community was established in 1993 to assist the Government in formulating policy across the full range of Government activity. Among its terms of reference was "to analyse nomadism in modern Irish society and to explore ways whereby mutual understanding and respect can be developed between the Travelling community and the settled community. The task force delivered its final report in July 1995. The task force made proposals across a wide range of Government activity but principally related to accommodation, health, education and equality legislation. The task force proposed an integrated package; without the provision of adequate accommodation, improvements in educational and health provision would be more difficult to undertake.
Since then, the necessary statutory and administrative structures have been put into place. The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998, requires housing authorities to prepare five year Traveller accommodation programmes and establish local Traveller accommodation consultative committees. It also provided for the establishment on a statutory basis of the National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee. The Employment Equality Act, 1998, prohibits discrimination on the ground of membership of the Travelling community in the areas of employment and training. The Equal Status Act, 2000, prohibits discrimination on the ground of membership of the Travelling community in the supply of goods and services and the provision of education and accommodation.
The national Traveller health strategy has been published. A Traveller advisory committee has been set up in the Department of Health and Children and Traveller health units have been set up in almost all health boards. The Department of Education and Science prepared the Education Act, 1998, and established a departmental co-ordinating committee on Traveller education, 1996, and the advisory committee on Traveller education, 1998.
My Department chairs the monitoring committee established to co-ordinate and monitor the implementation of the task force recommendations. Traveller groups are represented on the monitoring committee as they are on most of the other committees listed above.
The task force recognised the need for an improvement in relationships between the Traveller and the settled communities. In particular it sought a better understanding by settled people of the general needs of Travellers, their culture and aspirations and a greater understanding by Travellers of the anxieties of the settled population. To that end the Government has since 1999 provided €380,000 per annum for a Traveller communication programme, Citizen Traveller, managed by Traveller organisations. That programme is currently under review. My Department has also, since 2000, funded a mediation service operated by Pavee Point, the Traveller Resource Centre. This service aims to help resolve conflicts between Travellers and settled people.
Irish policy in relation to the Travelling community is one of the most advanced in Europe. The Government keeps in touch with developments in other European states through the appropriate international fora. For example, my Department will be represented at a meeting of the Council of Europe specialist group on Roma-Gypsies which is meeting in Dublin on 15 and 16 October, 2002.
