282 Mr. Flood asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the Committee to Monitor the Implementation of Government Policy on Travelling People is still in operation; when it last issued an annual report; the membership of the committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6150/00]

In June 1998 I established a committee to monitor and co-ordinate the implementation of the recommendations of the Task Force on the Travelling Community. The committee, which is chaired by my Department, is representative of Traveller interests, the four social partners and relevant Departments. Since its establishment the committee has met on 11 occasions. As part of its terms of reference, the monitoring committee is required to draw up and submit to Government from time to time a progress report on the implementation of the recommendations of the task force. The committee is currently preparing its first progress report for submission to Government later this year.