Tithe an Oireachtais an Comhchoiste Um Dhlí Agus Ceart, Cosaint
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Tithe an Oireachtais An Comhchoiste um Dhlí agus Ceart, Cosaint agus Comhionannas Tuarascáil ar Aitheantas d'Eitneacht an Lucht Siúil Aibreán 2014 _______________ Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality Report on the Recognition of Traveller Ethnicity April 2014 31/JDAE/013 1 Contents CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD....................................................................3 BACKGROUND.......................................................................................4 RAPPORTEUR’S PREFACE...................................................................5 RECOMMENDATIONS…........................................................................7 OVERVIEW AND RATIONALE FOR RECOMMENDATIONS…………8 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................16 APPENDIX 1 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST ………………………………………………………………………………...17 APPENDIX 2 MEMBERSHIP OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE…….… 19 APPENDIX 3 ORDERS OF REFERENCE …………………..…….… 20 APPENDIX 4 TRANSCRIPTS OF HEARINGS……………………….23 2 Chairman’s Foreword The Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality agreed to undertake an examination on the recognition of Traveller Ethnicity. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn agreed to act as Rapporteur on this matter and bring forward a Report for the consideration of the Committee. The Committee considered a number of written submissions it had received and held three public hearings with a number of stakeholders to consider the issues in more detail. The Joint Committee would like to acknowledge the enormous amount of time and personal effort given by Deputy Mac Lochlainn into preparing this Report. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution made by the members of the Committee throughout the period this matter was under consideration. The Joint Committee would like to thank all the witnesses who attended at public hearings to give evidence and to those who took the time to make written submissions. The Joint Committee, at its meeting of 16 April 2014, considered the Rapporteur„s Report and the recommendations therein. The Joint Committee agreed to adopt this Report and that a copy of the Report be forwarded to the Minister for Justice and Equality. David Stanton TD Chairman April 2014 3 BACKGROUND The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality undertook in 2013 to carry out a report on the recognition of Traveller ethnicity and to make recommendations to the Minister for Justice and Equality, Alan Shatter and his Department as part of their on-going deliberations on the matter. Work of the Committee: The Committee held three public hearings during 2013. The full transcripts of the three public meetings are printed and contained in Appendix 4 of this report. The Committee also visited Clondalkin Travellers Development Group and Blanchardstown Traveller Development Group to hear their perspectives on Traveller ethnicity on 13th February 2014. Meetings with Stakeholders 17th April 2013 Committee Hearing Irish Travellers Movement (Ms Brigid Quilligan, Director, Ms Susan Fay, Managing Solicitor and Ms Jacinta Brack, Communications Coordinator) Pavee Point (Ms Ronnie Fay and Martin Collins, Directors) 12th June 2013 Committee Hearing Dr Robbie McVeigh Dr Jim MacLaughlin 13th November 2013 Committee Hearing Irish Human Rights Commission (Ms Sinéad Lucey) Equality Authority (Mr Laurence Bond) 4 RAPPORTEUR’S PREFACE The Minister for Justice and Equality, Alan Shatter TD has stated that he is aware of calls for the Government to consider granting Traveller ethnicity in the context of international conventions to which Ireland is a party. Against that background, he has undertaken to give serious consideration to the issue. As part of that consideration by the Minister, a conference on the subject of Ethnicity and Travellers: An Exploration was convened by the National Traveller Monitoring and Advisory Committee with support from the Department of Justice and Equality in September 2012. That Conference provided an opportunity for various aspects of the issue of ethnicity to be discussed and built on earlier discussions within the framework of National Traveller Monitoring and Advisory Committee on the issue. That Committee brings together all of the national Traveller organisations as well as senior officials from relevant Government Departments. The report from that Conference now forms part of the on- going consideration of the issue. The Department of Justice and Equality has in parallel been engaging with other Government Departments on the issue by way of identifying any possible implications arising from the recognition of Travellers as an ethnic group. Those consultations are continuing. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality (hereinafter the “Joint Committee”) undertook in 2013 to carry out a report on the recognition of Traveller ethnicity and to make recommendations to the Minister for Justice and Equality, Alan Shatter and his Department. The Joint Committee is mindful that there are a plethora of reports pertaining to the travelling community in Ireland over the last 50 years. However, the remit of the Joint Committee‟s deliberations was solely limited to the subject of Traveller ethnicity and it‟s recognition in this State. In reaching our conclusions and recommendations, the Joint Committee drew upon the overwhelming evidence in favour of Traveller ethnicity, provided to the Joint Committee at it‟s hearings and visits and from the following reports in particular: 5 The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) discussion paper (2004) on Traveller ethnicity: Travellers as an ethnic minority under the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: A Discussion Paper. http://www.ihrc.ie/download/pdf/travellers_discussion_paper2004.p df The Equality Authority research report (2006) on Traveller ethnicity entitled: Traveller Ethnicity: An Equality Authority Report. http://www.equality.ie/Files/Traveller-Ethnicity-DOC.doc The IHRC submission (2013) to government on Traveller ethnicity; Submission on the Recognition of the Traveller Community as an Ethnic Minority in the State http://www.ihrc.ie/download/pdf/traveller_ethnicity_recognition_jan uary_2012.pdf The Irish Travellers Movement submission (2013) to our committee on the Recognition of Traveller Ethnicity http://itmtrav.ie/uploads/publication/ITM_Submission_to_the_Joint _Oireachtas_Commitee_on_Recognition_of_Traveller_Ethnicity.pd f The recommendations outlined in this report should now be acted upon swiftly. It is no longer tenable for this State to deny Traveller ethnicity. It is long past time for this State to fully honour our responsibilities to the international conventions on human rights and to truly value and protect our Traveller communities. Pádraig Mac Lochlainn TD Rapporteur April 2014 6 RECOMMENDATIONS The Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality recommends the following: Step 1: That either the Taoiseach or the Minister for Justice and Equality make a statement to Dáil Éireann confirming that this State recognises the ethnicity of the travelling community. Step 2: That the Government then writes to the relevant international bodies, confirming that this State recognises the ethnicity of the travelling community. Step 3: That the Government build on these initiatives and commence a time- limited dialogue with the Traveller representative groups about the new legislation or amendments to existing legislation now required. 7 OVERVIEW AND RATIONALE FOR RECOMMENDATIONS It is clear that the national policy debate has moved from the conclusion of the Commission on Itinerancy in 1963 that Travellers do not constitute an ethnic group to the introduction of a definition of Travellers in the Equal Status Acts that effectively recognises Traveller ethnicity. However, despite repeated recommendations from international bodies such as The Joint Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and our own domestic bodies tasked with promoting and protecting the human rights and equality rights of all of our citizens, this State has yet to explicitly and formally recognise Traveller ethnicity. The Joint Committee examined these matters in great detail over the course of three hearings of the Joint Committee with a range of relevant stakeholders and the evidence in favour of the recognition of Traveller ethnicity was overwhelming. Historical overview The first major policy report in this State on Travellers was the Report of the Commission on Itinerancy (1963). The Commission was established in June 1960 and the publication of the report of the Commission three years later established policy relating to Travellers for the next twenty years. The four terms of reference for the Commission were: (1) To enquire into the problem arising from the presence in the country of itinerants in considerable numbers (2) To examine the economic, educational, health and social problems inherent in their way of life (3) To consider what steps might be taken: (a) to provide opportunities for a better way of life for itinerants; (b) to promote their absorption into the general community; 8 (c) pending such absorption, to reduce to a minimum the disadvantage to themselves and to the community resulting from their itinerant habits. (4) To make recommendations. The language used in the terms of reference was instructive as to the State‟s ideological approach to the travelling community at that time. It is also instructive that no representatives of the travelling