Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022
273. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the actions his Department has taken to implement the relevant recommendations from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Key Issues Affecting the Traveller Community report issued in November 2021. [14010/22]
View answerMy Department has recently received a copy of the Final Report of the Joint Committee on Key Issues Affecting the Traveller Community and is considering in detail the actions that the Committee has proposed to assign to my Department.
The Deputy will appreciate that any requests for additional funding supports for specific measures recommended must be considered and addressed by relevant Line Departments as part of the annual Estimates process.
As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I have policy responsibility for recruitment to the civil service. As reflected in the Civil Service Renewal 2024 Strategy, the civil service is strong committed to equality of opportunity for all in terms of its recruitment and employment practices and building a more diverse and inclusive workforce that is reflect of the modern Ireland that it serves.
OneLearning, the Civil Service Learning and Development Shared Service Centre based within my Department, shall shortly be rolling out a second generation of training courses for civil servants following extensive stakeholder engagement, including by representatives from IHREC. New equality, diversity and inclusion training courses are being introduced to support our goal to develop more diverse and inclusive workplaces, with a particular emphasis on the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty.
As the Deputy may recall, my Department and the Public Appointments Service (PAS) made submissions to the Joint Committee in the context of the 80% unemployment rate amongst members of the Traveller community. PAS, which is a body under the aegis of my Department, is the primary recruiter for the civil service and other parts of the public service. PAS plays a central role in attracting a diverse range of talented people from all backgrounds, including members of the Traveller and Roma community, to take up employment opportunities in the civil service.
PAS launched its first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-2023 following extensive and ongoing engagements with NGOs, including with representatives from organisations representing members of the Traveller and Roma communities such as PaveePoint, the Travellers In Prison Initiative, Involve, St Stephen’s Green Trust and the Irish Traveller Movement.
As part of its outreach activities, PAS has held workshops with Traveller and Roma organisations to provide guidance and information on recruitment opportunities and to provide an overview of the recruitment process. PAS has advertised employment opportunities in key publications such as the ‘Traveller Voice’ Magazine as well as sponsoring the Traveller Education awards.
As reflected under the Civil Service 2024 Renewal Strategy and the PAS EDI Strategy 2021-2023, my Department and PAS are committed to exploring alternative pathways as a more inclusive approach to attracting underrepresented groups to apply for roles in the civil service. Leveraging the very positive experiencing of developing disability internships across the civil service, and in line with a core recommendation from the Joint Committee and Pathways to Work 2021-2025, a Pilot Civil Service Internship Programme for members of the Traveller and Roma communities will be launched during Q2 2022, with paid placements of 12 months duration being made available.
This Pilot Internship Programme will be hosted by the Department of Justice, who have led out on its development in consultation with an Advocacy Group made up of representatives of the Traveller and Roma communities, and its launch had intentionally been deferred previously owing to pandemic workplace restrictions. The leanings from this pilot will inform the future development and expansion of the Internship Programme.
