Urgent legislative reform and a fully resourced inclusion strategy needed to deliver real equality
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (‘the Commission’) today called on lawmakers to take urgent and coordinated action to address the persistent discrimination and inequality faced by Traveller and Roma communities in Ireland.
Speaking before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Key Issues Affecting the Traveller Community, the Commission highlighted how substandard accommodation, poor health outcomes, educational disadvantage, and barriers to justice continue to define the lived experience of Travellers and Roma.
In a country which prides itself on being rights-based and progressive, the pace of progress for these communities remains “staggeringly slow.” And so, the Commission renews our call for a resourced and integrated National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy aligned with the National Strategy for Women and Girls.
Recent international human rights reviews, including the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on National Minorities (FCNM), have criticised the State’s disturbing lack of progress in this area. These bodies have urged Ireland to address systemic barriers in education, employment and healthcare for Traveller women, and to act on hate crime and incitement to hatred law reform.
The Commission called for the immediate repeal of Section 19 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003, which restricts victims of discrimination from accessing the Workplace Relations Commission and undermines equal access to justice. The Commission also urged the Government to ensure that equality bodies are properly resourced in line with EU directives.
The single largest area of complaint to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission from the Traveller community is accommodation.
Not only are Travellers denied culturally appropriate accommodation, they are often left living in conditions not fit for human habitation. Traveller accommodation must be prioritised as a matter of urgency.
Chief Commissioner Liam Herrick said:
“Traveller and Roma Communities in Ireland remain two of the most discriminated-against groups in a society that prides itself on standing up to injustice and human rights abuses. Last week marked the 10th anniversary of the fire at Carrickmines, in which the discriminatory barriers faced by Travellers manifested in the most horrific of tragedies. Unforgivably, ten years on, discrimination against the Traveller Community is as persistent, systemic and wide-ranging as ever.”