The situation of Travellers in Ireland today can be best described as one of exclusion and oppression. If this is to change, it will require an urgent and carefully planned response. It is important to emphasise a planned response because, as we are all too painfully aware, the strategies that have been adopted in the past were inappropriate, inadequate and therefore, ineffective.
There is no doubt that serious mistakes were made in the past and it is vitally important that we learn from these mistakes. Some Travellers that I talk to will argue that the situation in Ireland for them has deteriorated. There are more Travellers now on the roadside than there were in 1963 when the Commission on Itinerancy Report1 was published. Accommodation, education, health and discrimination continue to be major issues for Travellers. There are at the present time over 1,200 Traveller families still on the roadside with no access to electricity supply, water supply, sanitation or refuse collection.2
Nomadism is a very important feature of Traveller culture and many Travellers still desire to travel but, unfortunately, this way of life is condemned and rejected by the majority population. What is needed to resource this nomadism is a network of transient sites strategically located throughout the country that would facilitate Traveller nomadism.
The most significant development in recent times in relation to accommodation for Travellers has been the establishment of the National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Group which was set up by the Department of the Environment. This was one of the recommendations contained in the Task Force Report on the Travelling community when it published its report in July 1995.3 It is a crucial recommendation and already action has been taken and we are very optimistic that the accommodation situation of Travellers will be seriously addressed. We believe that there is a sincere commitment there from the Department of the Environment and Local Government to resolve this issue once and for all.
It is also a well known fact, and there is documented evidence to substantiate what I am saying,4 that the health situation of Travellers is quite poor because of the appalling living conditions that we are forced to live in. I will give two examples: a Traveller man can, on average, expect to live twelve years less than his counterpart in the settled community; the infant mortality rate among Travellers is three times higher than the national average. These are the frightening health statistics for Travellers and it is because of the harsh living conditions that Travellers are forced to live in.
Education is also a very important area for Travellers. There has been a huge increase in the number of Travellers attending school. This is an important development and needs to be encouraged, but it is not just a question of the number of Travellers attending school. We must also look at people's experience once they are in the class room and question if their culture, traditions, identity and history are acknowledged and facilitated. In my view, at the moment, they are not. There is a need for the curriculum to take account of other cultures and ethnicities and this would, obviously, include Traveller culture. Intercultural education is very important and this debate is at a very advanced stage in other EU countries, but unfortunately, this is not the case in Ireland. I would even suggest there is a deliberate block which is hindering this discussion.
Another area that is of huge importance to Travellers is the whole area of discrimination and exclusion. It is also very well documented and undisputed that Travellers are one of the most marginalised and oppressed groups in Irish society. We experience exclusion socially, politically, economically and culturally. Travellers are treated as outcasts and this is evident in the frequent refusals to serve Travellers in pubs, hotels, restaurants, laundries and so on. Discrimination is also evident in the widespread opposition groups which organise to prevent Traveller sites from being built in 'their' areas. Travellers are not protected from this blatant discrimination. The European Parliament Report on Racism and Xenophobia5 recommended that the only member state that has not already ratified the UN convention on elimination of all forms of racial discrimination do so as soon as possible. That member state is Ireland. Ireland has no anti-racist legislation and is therefore not in a position to ratify this convention. We have been promised this legislation for so long, I am getting worried that we may not see this at all. The situation in relation to this legislation is unclear.
Obviously what is needed is equal status legislation which would make discrimination an offence and under which people could be prosecuted. So we are campaigning and urging the government to introduce this legislation without further delay. This legislation must also allow for the establishment of an equality authority that would be sufficiently staffed and resourced to monitor the effectiveness of the implementation of such legislation. Legislation on its own will not succeed. We do need this equality authority.
This new legislation when it becomes law must also give specific and clear recognition to Traveller identity and Traveller culture because this is also a very important area for us. At the moment, our culture is systematically undermined and devalued. Traveller families across the country have been continuously attacked, their trailers burned, young children, as well as men and women, have been seen fleeing across fields for their own safety. Incidents such as this have occurred in places like Bantry, Wexford, Galway and so on. The list is endless. This is the present reality for Travellers in Ireland and it is very frightening. There are many reports to support and back up what I have said today.6
If we are really serious about making equality a reality for Travellers in Irish society, then there are a number of initiatives that I believe should be taken:
Over the last few years, we have heard a lot of rhetoric and commitments have been made as regards improving our situation, without any real results. The real challenge facing us now is to translate these commitments into actions on the ground.
My final point is very important. Travellers must be encouraged to participate in a meaningful and real way in all decisions affecting our lives, from those concerning halting sites, to the types of education we want for our children. This participation is not just a matter of equal numbers on committees; equality in participation is about equal opportunity, facilitating real input into plans and decisions that affect us. I believe that this path will lead us to a process of growth and development for both sides and can lead us forward into a more hopeful future.
Department of Environment Document, ESRI Report 1986; November 1992.
Department of Health, Census of the Travelling People; 1987.
Department of Health, Vital Statistics of Travelling People.
Department of Social Welfare, Report of the Commission on Itinerancy; Stationery Office; Dublin; 1963.
European Parliament Committee of Inquiry on Racism and Xenophobia
-Ford Report; Office for Official Publications of the European Communities; Luxembourg; 1991.
Report of the Task Force on the Travelling Community; Stationery Office; Dublin; July 1995.
1: Department of Social Welfare, Report of the Commission on Itinerancy; Stationery Office; Dublin; 1963. Return to Main Text
2: ESRI Report 1986; Department of Environment Document; November 1992.Return to Main Text
3: Report of the Task Force on the Travelling Community; Stationery Office; Dublin; July 1995.Return to Main Text
4: Census of the Travelling People; Department of Health; 1987. Vital Statistics of Travelling People; Department of Health.Return to Main Text
5: European Parliament Committee of Inquiry on Racism and Xenophobia -Ford Report; Office for Official Publications of the European Communities; Luxembourg; 1991.Return to Main Text