Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 July 2021
66. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will report on engagement with Travellers and their organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36289/21]
View answerMy Department has ongoing engagement with Travellers and their representative organisations.
The Traveller and Roma Policy Unit of my Department engage with Traveller and Roma groups on a continuous basis with regard to projects funded and developments under the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS).
The NTRIS Steering Committee which I Chair, meets every quarter and brings government departments and agencies together along with representatives of both Traveller and Roma communities to bring a focus to the issues which affect them most in a structured way. Progress on actions under NTRIS are monitored and updates are shared with the representative groups in advance of each Steering Group meeting.
In addition, over the last few months I have held meetings with a number of Traveller representative groups including the Irish Traveller Movement, the National Traveller Partnership, the National Travellers Women’s Forum and with Pavee Point.
Furthermore, the Traveller and Roma representative groups engage in consultations held by my Department on a range of issues, for example, on the State's 3rd report under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States. Traveller and Roma representative groups also participate on the Anti-Racism Committee which is independently chaired and is working towards the development of a National Action Plan against Racism.
