Ruairí Quinn
Question:57 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason he has decided to end funding for the Citizen Traveller campaign; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23729/02]
Written Answers. - Traveller Community.
In 1998, following representations to the Taoiseach by CORI – Conference of the Religious of Ireland – and members of the main Traveller organisations, the Government allocated a sum of £900,000 to fund a Traveller communications programme over a three year period from 1999 to 2001. The objective of the programme was to address the underlying causes of mistrust between Travellers and the settled community and to promote a greater understanding between both communities. The Traveller communication strategy, Citizen Traveller, completed its three year programme at the end of 2001. Following representations, it was decided to provide funding for a further year. The agreed allocation for 2002 was €380,000.
In June 2002, a commitment was made in An Agreed Programme for Government "to review campaigns designed to promote tolerance and understanding between the settled and travelling communities and maintain multi-annual funding for targeted programmes". This summer, the campaign had incurred expenditure on a campaign which went outside its terms of reference. In September 2002, I requested a review of the Citizen Traveller campaign with the following terms of reference: to undertake a value for money audit of the Citizen Traveller campaign; to undertake a review of the decision making and management processes; to prepare an up to date report on the financial position of the Traveller Communication Committee Ltd.; and to provide recommendations for future action.
The review which was carried out by an independent management consultant concluded that: the campaign did not fully embrace the objectives behind the campaign; with the increasing allocation of Citizen Traveller funds to Traveller organisations' own communication objectives, Government objectives for Citizen Traveller were unlikely to be met in the future; the management of the campaign did obtain good value for money in procuring services and in the use of those services; the campaign had many achievements to its credit, including engaging the Traveller community, raising Traveller self-esteem and highlighting issues of Traveller accommodation and education; and the existing structures were an inadequate vehicle to carry out the kind of programme which was likely to be successful.
Given the difficulties arising from the existing structure and that, whatever option for the future was decided upon, new structures would be required, I considered that an orderly winding up of the management company, Traveller Communication Committee Limited, with the payment of all outstanding creditors was the best policy at this stage. Delay would only lead to further expense. I am considering all options for a replacement scheme within the terms of the task force report on the Traveller community and with specific emphasis on the improvement of relationships between the Traveller and settled communities. Any alternative scheme will be considered within available Exchequer resources. In this regard, submissions are currently being invited from interested parties on what ought to replace the Citizen Traveller campaign.
Question No. 58 answered with Question No. 52.