Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community (2023) publishes Report on Travellers’ Experience of the Justice System

Launching the report, Committee Cathaoirleach Senator Eileen Flynn said: “Equality before the law and trust in the justice system are central components to inclusion and participation in society. For too long, however, the Traveller community has not felt full equality before the law. Members of the Traveller community report being targeted by An Garda Síochána and being under-served when they report crimes to Gardaí.

“Additionally, many Travellers experience discrimination when engaging with the processes of the courts. The lived experiences of Travellers who have engaged with the justice system are laid out in the landmark report of the Irish Travellers’ Access to Justice initiative. The report is stark in its findings.

“It is the view of the Committee that the Department of Justice must direct the Inspector of Prisons to undertake a review of Travellers’ experiences within the prison system. Additionally, the Irish Prison Service must begin to collect disaggregated data on Travellers in prison. Likewise, An Garda Síochána must recognise the findings of the report of the Irish Travellers’ Access to Justice initiative which point to a practice of racial profiling of Travellers by some Gardaí and take action to address it. 

“Action is required from the Department of Justice, the judiciary and the Probation Service to reduce the use of short-term sentences within the penal system. The Committee heard evidence from a number of witnesses which suggests that short-term sentences do not give prisoners the opportunity to address behaviours and problems which make reoffending more likely.

“Resourcing and encouraging participation in education and addiction services in prisons will benefit those on longer sentences, however community-oriented alternatives to prison must be prioritised to reduce recidivism and address prison overcrowding.”

The key recommendations of the Committee are that:

• An Garda Síochána takes note of the evidence of racial profiling of Travellers borne out in the report of the Irish Travellers’ Access to Justice initiative and the report on the Roma and Travellers survey of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and puts in place appropriate measures to cease practices of racial profiling of Travellers;
• A ticketing system to record instances of stop and search – as utilised in Northern Ireland – is introduced to gather data on the usage of stop and search and to give those who are targeted by this process a record of its occurrence and that a report is published annually;
• An ethnic identifier is introduced throughout the process of criminal justice to gather accurate data relating to the policing and sentencing of the Traveller community and other ethnic minority groups compared with the general population and that a report is published annually;
• The Committee endorses the recommendations of the Irish Travellers’ Access to Justice report and echoes its recommendation that the Department of Justice develops a strategy to improve trust in the justice system and establishes an advisory group to monitor its implementation;
• Actions are taken to reduce the use of short sentences in the justice system and that alternatives to such sentences are prioritised, such as Enhanced Combination Orders as used in Northern Ireland;
• In-prison resources such as education, counselling and mediation services are resourced to fully meet demand without the operation of waiting lists;
• Those released from prison are assisted in accessing supports such as addiction counselling and education to reduce the rate of re-offending;
• A purpose-built, rehabilitation facility is constructed for women who have been convicted of minor and drug-related offences to divert from committal to high-security prisons such as Limerick Female Prison and the Dóchas Centre.

Senator Flynn said: “It is our hope that the recommendations of this report will be acted upon to build the trust of the Traveller community in the justice system and to achieve full equality before the law.

“Throughout the course of its work, the Committee visited Castlerea Prison, Mountjoy Female Prison – the Dóchas Centre – and Oberstown Children’s Detention Campus. The Committee is grateful to those who engaged with us and contributed to our work at those site visits. 

“The Committee is particularly grateful to the authors and contributors to the Irish Travellers’ Access to Justice report as well as to the Irish Penal Reform Trust, the Travellers Justice Initiative and all witnesses who contributed to the work of the Committee.”

The Joint Committee’s Report on Travellers’ Experience of the Justice System is available on the Oireachtas website.

The Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community (2023) has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad. The Committee was re-established in June 2023 to continue the work of the previous Committee, whose final report can be found here.