The burning of a Traveller’s home in County Donegal.Deputy Finian McGrathTo discuss the very serious problem of anti-Traveller discrimination in our
society in light of recent events in Donegal and the need for dedicated
action and initiatives which might help to combat this problem
Deputy Dessie Ellis
Minister’s Opening Remarks
I would like to thank the Deputies for raising this matter. I am speaking
on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality who is unable to be
present due to other business.
The shocking incident in which a house at Parkhill, Ballyshannon was
destroyed by fire in the early hours of Monday 11 February is of great
concern to the Minister, as I have no doubt it is to all in this House.
The Minister understands that the house was completely engulfed by flames
and that Gardaí had to evacuate a number of other houses in the vicinity.
Thankfully, it appears that no one was injured, but the incident clearly
had the potential for a tragic and possibly fatal outcome. The Minister
would like to pay tribute to the Gardaí and Fire Service personnel who
responded very effectively to this emergency incident.
The Minister is well aware of the suggestion that the fire may have been
started deliberately and that it may be the result of an anti-Traveller
attack. Needless to say the Minister, and the Government, would condemn any
such acts without reservation, and anyone motivated by discriminatory and
racist attitudes should be aware that all illegal actions will be met with
the full force of the law.
The current position is that the incident is under investigation by An
Garda Síochána. I am sure Deputies will appreciate that it would be
inappropriate to comment in any more detail on the progress of the
investigation. We need to allow the Gardaí the space and time to do their
job. In the event that the Garda investigation indicates that the fire was
the result of a criminal act the Minister has every confidence that the
matter will be pursued by the Gardaí in a thorough and fully professional
manner. On behalf of the Minister I would appeal to anyone who has any
information which might be of assistance to the Gardaí to come forward.
The commitment of An Garda Síochána to tackle racially motivated crime is
underlined by the work of the Garda Racial, Intercultural and Diversity
Office (GRIDO), whose services are available to any person who believes a
crime to be motivated by discriminatory or racist attitudes. In such cases
the GRIDO office will assist victims as well as the investigating Gardaí to
ensure that the incident receives the appropriate attention. The GRIDO also
monitors crimes which have a racist motivation on a constant basis so as to
ensure that all such crimes are properly recorded and investigated.
The Minister is aware of course that issues relating to the accommodation
of Travellers have been brought into this discussion. Travellers in Ireland
have the same civil and political rights as other citizens under the
Constitution, including in terms of access to public services such as local
authority accommodation. All the protections afforded to ethnic minorities
in EU directives and international conventions apply to Travellers because
the Irish legislation giving effect to those international instruments,
such as the Equality Acts, the Unfair Dismissals Acts and the Prohibition
of Incitement to Hatred Act, explicitly protect Travellers.
Government policy in relation to the accommodation of Travellers is
implemented through the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998. All
relevant local authorities are obliged, under the Act, to adopt and
implement multi-annual Traveller accommodation programmes, with the aim of
improving the rate of provision of accommodation for Travellers.
Significant funding has been made available for the provision of
Traveller-specific accommodation over many years.
In conclusion, the Minister would like to assure the Deputies that there is
no question of this Government entertaining any suggestions that Travellers
should be regarded as anything less than equal participants in modern Irish
society.