Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre
Press Statment
April 17th 2014
‘Our Ethnicity- Our Pride, Your Prejudice: Time for the State to end this cycle of ethnicity denial’
Pavee Point today welcomes the publication of a report on the recognition of Traveller Ethnicity by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice.
We call on the Minister to immediately act on this report recommending the recognition of Traveller Ethnicity and to accept this cross party recommendation. It is time to stop playing politics with this issue and end this cycle of ethnicity denial. It will be of huge symbolic importance to Travellers within Ireland and further afield.
This recognition also has practical implications and should mean that Travellers would automatically be included in all State anti racism and intercultural initiatives without delay. The discrimination Travellers experience would be recognised as racism. After almost three decades of work with government, Pavee Point is today hopeful that this report can finally lead to the rightful recognition of Traveller Ethnicity.
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