Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre, along with a coalition of Traveller organisations, welcomes the Concluding Observations on Ireland by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights following the 4th Review of Ireland’s progress in implementing the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) last month.
The Committee’s Concluding Observations raised a number of areas of concern included in our submission in relation to Travellers, Roma and other minority ethnic groups. These included health, accommodation, employment, education and access to disaggregated data.
Pavee Point endorses the Committee’s recommendations to undertake mainstreaming and targeted special measures to prevent and combat the persistent discrimination, racism and inequality experienced by Travellers, Roma and other marginalised groups and to ensure equality of access, participation and outcomes across all policy areas. This includes adequate accommodation/housing, healthcare, education, social protection, and a decent standard of living. In particular, the Committee urged the State to expedite the development of a “Traveller and Roma Training, Employment and Enterprise Plan in partnership with Traveller and Roma communities, ensuring the adequate allocation of financial, human and technical resources for its implementation.”
Pavee Point supports the call to develop this Plan as per commitments in the Programme for Government. We also echo the Committee’s concerns on the issue of poverty amongst Travellers, Roma and other marginalised groups and call on the State to urgently address this issue, in particular, as it relates the Habitual Residence Condition, which the Committee commented, “effectively denies access to certain disadvantaged groups and has a significant discriminatory effect on Traveller and Roma communities.”
“Ireland is one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, we should not have children going to bed hungry and that is the reality for many children across the country, including Traveller and Roma children. We continue to call on the State to make Child Benefit truly universal to alleviate child poverty” said Gabi Muntean of Pavee Point.
Health
The Committee also raised concerns in relation to health inequalities, in particular in relation to poor perinatal outcomes for Traveller, Roma and migrant and minority ethnic women. It urged Ireland to ensure a whole-of-government response to effectively implement the National Traveller Health Action Plan, ensuring adequate allocation of financial, human, and technical resources and oversight of social stakeholders.
Accommodation
The accommodation crisis is a key concern for Travellers who experience overcrowding in all types of accommodation. Poor living conditions are also impacting other areas such as health, employment and education. The committee urged the State to ensure adequate access to culturally appropriate accommodation for Travellers.
Education
The Committee noted its concerns in relation to poor educational outcomes for Traveller children, Roma children and children from disadvantaged backgrounds and recommended that positive action measures are put in place to raise educational attainment rates. The Committee welcomed the State’s commitment to develop a Traveller and Roma Education Strategy and we look forward to its rapid development, with robust implementation and monitoring frameworks, alongside associated dedicated targets, indicators, and resources to address the educational disadvantage of Travellers and Roma at all educational levels.
Data
“For over 30 years, Pavee Point, alongside other Traveller organisations, have advocated for ethnic equality monitoring across all relevant State departments and public bodies, we fully welcome State’s commitment to publish the long-awaited National Equality Data Strategy and echo the Committee’s recommendation to ensure that the Strategy is inclusive of a robust monitoring plan with clear targets, indicators, timeframes and budget lines. ” Lynsey Kavanagh, Co-Director. The Committee therefore asks for the full and effective development and implementation of ethnic equality monitoring (in line with human rights standards) across all relevant State departments and public bodies, as part of the forthcoming National Equality Data Strategy.
Access to social protection and poverty
The Committee also raised concerns about certain conditions attached to social security benefits, including the habitual residence condition, which effectively denies access to certain disadvantaged groups and has a significant discriminatory effect on Traveller and Roma communities, victims of domestic violence, people experiencing homelessness and migrants.
The Committee recommended that the State Party review the conditions attached to social security benefits, including the habitual residence condition, with a view to removing the conditions that are discriminatory or have a discriminatory effect and take effective measures to improve uptake rates of such benefits.
Traveller Culture & Language
The Committee welcomed the State’s formal acknowledgement of Traveller ethnicity and reiterated the recommendation made in its previous concluding observations to include Travellers in anti-discrimination legislation, and take all necessary measures to ensure the promotion, preservation, expression and dissemination of their cultural identity, language, and historical legacy.
Civil Society
In Geneva, Pavee Point welcomed comments by Minister Joe O’Brien, Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development and at the Department of Social Protection and at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, in relation to collaboration between government and civil society. The Committee also acknowledged this in their recommendations and encouraged Ireland to take all necessary measures, “to enable civil society and other relevant social partners to participate in political and advocacy work on economic, social and cultural rights”. It also recommended that the State move beyond consultation and ensure, “direct participation by civil society in the implementation and monitoring of policies, programmes, and legislation related to Covenant rights.”
“The concluding observations from the Committee shows areas in which some progress has been made, however, there are a number of areas in which the State is falling short of its human rights obligations particularly as it relates to Travellers and Roma. It also shows the importance of the economic, social and cultural rights for Travellers and Roma which are essential for the conditions for achieving full rights and equality in Irish society and beyond. We want to thank the Committee for the Concluding Observations’ contribution to this journey.”- Lynsey Kavangh, Co-Director, Pavee Point.
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Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre, along with National Traveller Women’s Forum, Minceir Whiden, Donegal Travellers Project, Minceirs Whiden, Galway Traveller Movement, Offaly Traveller Movement, Cork Traveller Visibility Group and Wicklow Travellers’ Group made submissions to the Committee last year and participated in the review of Ireland this February. In addition to the above recommendations, the Committee draws the State’s attention to a number of other recommendations on economic, social and cultural rights and calls for urgent measures in relation to them.
Please read full Concluding Observations on Ireland by the United Nations Committee Concluding Observations on Ireland by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
See links for our full Alternative Report and List of Issues to the Committee.
See our web report on speaking up for Traveller & Roma economic, social and cultural Rights at Ireland’s review in Geneva in February, 2024.