Technical Report - Donegal Traveller's Project

Health Survey FindingsThe general recommendations of the report include a focus on the need to meaningfully engage withparents of Traveller children, in particular through community development and relationship buildingwith educational providers. Inclusionary education strategies within preschool, primary and postprimaryeducational settings were viewed as essential in allowing Traveller children to fully enjoy theirright to education. Further, recommendations included an emphasis on equality, inter-agency supportand adequate funding of specialised assistance programmes. Within third-level education, the Strategyemphasised the need for alternative entry routes, support and mentoring of those Travellers enteringthird-level education.In Northern Ireland, data from Connolly and Keenan (2002) suggest that• 18% of Traveller children access preschool or nursery compared to 58% of the general population.• 59% of Travellers aged between 16 and 24 years leave school with no qualifications, compared to17% of this age group in the general NI population.• 92% of Travellers have no GCSEs or higher qualifications.Income AdequacyThe Department of Environment Northern Ireland Census 2001, counted 1,710 Travellers inNorthern Ireland. Features of multiple disadvantages experienced by Travellers included long-termunemployment - only 11% are in paid employment whilst 70% who are economically active havehad no paid work in the last 10 years. In Northern Ireland 89% were unemployed compared to 4% forthe general population (Department of the Environment, 2001). In the 2006 census in the Republic ofIreland (Central Statistics Office, 2007c) the unemployment rate for Travellers was 75% compared to 9%for the general population.Research into the economic activities of Traveller culture identifies an emphasis on income generationrather than wage employment. However with increasing regulation and enforcement in workareas associated with Travellers (e.g. recycling, waste disposal, horse trading) opportunities for selfemploymenthave become more difficult to find. Barriers to Travellers accessing the labour marketinclude educational standard, lack of role models and discrimination. The majority of Travellers areunemployed and are dependent on social welfare payments. This often results in families living inpoverty trying to cope with the increasing costs of basic services, as well as the struggle to feed andclothe large families (Report of the Task Force on the Travelling Community, 1995).The Report of the Task Force on the Travelling Community stated that it was important that the fullrange of employment and training options are open to Travellers and that institutional or discriminatoryobstacles are removed. The links between Traveller cultural identity and traditional employment typeswere recognised. In order to fully exploit these links, a need has been identified to take account oftraditional structural characteristics of Traveller economic activity in implementing culturally reinforcingemployment policies. This involves a community development model that establishes a ‘logic ofempowerment’ which aims ‘to help remove shame of self or the will to hide one’s differences whenthey are compared to the ‘norm’ or majority’.11