Irish Travellers Movement

Outline of Submission

Our submission will follow the five objectives provided.

We have combined the policy sub-measures of A. Improvements to Existing Policy, B. Modifications and C. New/Additional Policies/Programmes under Actions for each objective, and summarised our Priorities up to 2008 at the end of the document.

1. Facilitating Participation in Employment

Travellers' economic activity has traditionally been primarily in the area of self employment, involving such activities as scrap-metal recycling, horse-trading, laying tarmac, market trading, etc.. Both the Casual Trading Act, 1995 and the Control of Horses Act, 1996 had a severely negative impact on Travellers' economic activities, indicating that neither piece of legislation were adequately poverty proofed at any stage.  Restrictive accommodation provision, where local authorities refuse to provide work  space  beside  accommodation  space (as  is  culturally  appropriate)  and  the ongoing attacks on nomadism, along with a decreasing demand for second-hand goods such as scrap-metal, exacerbate this problem.

As a result, only a minority of Travellers have remained economically active within the Traveller economy. Within the mainstream labour market, Travellers continue to find it very difficult to access employment. Travellers are discriminated against both directly (i.e. refusal to hire  or  provide  services)  and  indirectly (i.e.  poor  education,  health  and accommodation status of Travellers). Opportunities within the labour market have not replaced decreasing opportunities for self-employment within the Traveller economy, leaving many Travellers long-term unemployed and living on social welfare.

Innovative  and  supported  strategies  are  required  to  develop  Traveller  access  to training and labour market opportunities.

The Fas Community Employment Programme allowed for Travellers to take up "apprentice"  community  work  positions  and  other  roles  within  their  community. Further cuts to this programme will result in the reduction of numbers of Travellers coming taking up professional positions within their community.

Actions :

• Reform of the tax and benefit systems to reduce poverty traps, particular in relation to Travellers, and changes in the criteria for the medical card.
• Provision of workspace on or near Traveller accommodation
• In conjunction with Traveller organisations explore and develop innovative active  labour  market programmes  with  designated  Traveller  places  and adequate education and training budgets
• Fas to provide flexible skills based, certified training, building on Travellers  existing and traditional skills
• Develop an outreach strategy for Travellers by state training agencies like Fas,  LES, etc.
• Travellers should be targeted for specific opportunities in the public sector
• Further  develop  competency,  rather  than  academic  qualification  based recruitment strategies in relation to Travellers and other marginalised groups, including the waving of entry requirements for a variety of jobs, as well as apprenticeships
• Review of accessibility and relevance of enterprise supports for Travellers and  other  minority  ethnic  groups  to  be  carried  out  and  recommendations implemented
• Establish an adequate labour market data collection mechanism for Travellers,  in sensitive manner and within an equality framework.
• The establishment of a Task Force Committee within the Department of     Enterprise, Trade and Employment to advance the recommendation of the Task Force report, re employment and income generation.
• Any new initiatives should provide suitable choices to unemployed people, and  should  not  force  people  into  inappropriate    and  poor  quality employment/training through the threat of withdrawal of benefits
• Introduce a "bridging visa" for migrant workers, who have been exploited
• Grant asylum seekers the right to work after six months, as supported by    ICTU, IBEC and the INOU