16 Dec 2019, 14:41
The Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community resumes its meeting on Travellers and employment tomorrow, Tuesday, in Leinster House, Committee Room 1 at 11am.
Representatives from The Irish Traveller Movement, Donegal Traveller Project, Galway Traveller Movement, First Class Insulation, Clondalkin Development Group and Kerry Traveller Development Group will appear before the Committee.
Speaking before the meeting, Committee Chair, Senator Colette Kelleher said: “This is our second hearing of four examining the disproportionate levels of unemployment among Travellers. According to the ESRI's A Social Portrait of Travellers in Ireland, the employment rate of non-Travellers is six times higher than that of Travellers. On foot of the census carried out by the CSO in 2016, we are aware that 80% of Travellers within the potential workforce are unemployed in comparison with 13% of the general population.
“Whatever way we slice and dice the statistics, the disparities are vast. By listening to presenters from the Traveller community and others, we hope to get a sense of the scale of the problems facing Travellers in accessing jobs and how to remove those barriers to employment.”
View the Committee live here.