Irish Travellers: Ireland aims to improve education outcomes

Traveller rights organisation Pavee Point welcomed the strategy and has urged for its “rapid publication and implementation”.

“The strategy needs to ensure that Travellers’ education experiences, which all too often have been of racism and discrimination, can no longer get in the way of our community’s education ambitions,” said co-director Martin Collins.

The organisation has called on the Department of Education to “ensure that the strategy contains targets and timelines to support parity of participation at all levels, as well as dedicated resources.”

However, there is a lack of data on Roma children, according to Pavee Point, which they said “needs to be addressed” to set “appropriate and realistic” goals.

“Barriers which prevent many Roma children participating in education such as the Habitual Residence Condition, lack of Child Benefit, as well as language issues, need to be urgently addressed,” said Vanessa Paszkowska, Pavee Point’s Roma education worker.