“I am deeply concerned at the persisting social exclusion and discrimination Travellers are confronted with in Ireland”, said the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks today, concluding a three-day visit to the country. With Travellers having been affected in a gravely disproportionate manner by budget cuts as a result of austerity, the Commissioner emphasized the urgent need to re-invest in this community. « I warmly welcome signals that Travellers will soon be recognised as an ethnic group in Ireland, an acknowledgment that the community concerned has been awaiting for a long time.” Combined with targeted policy measures and more effective involvement of Travellers themselves, this important acknowledgment has the potential of marking a new departure in addressing the serious inequalities that continue to affect the members of this community in accommodation, health, education and, in fact, all fields of life”.
Referring to the tragic fire that one year ago claimed the lives of ten persons, including children, on a temporary Traveller halting site, the Commissioner stressed the urgency of addressing insufficient provision of Traveller-specific accommodation, inadequate conditions of many Traveller sites and inadequate safeguards against forced evictions. As the national authorities take measures to address a general housing crisis in Ireland, they should ensure that local authorities spend the budget allocated by the state on accommodation solutions that meet the specific needs of Travellers. “I could see that, in some cases, a little investment and better communication could go a long way in ensuring basic human rights and the dignity of members of the Traveller community” he said after a visit to two Traveller sites in the Dublin area. (more...)
