Traveller and Roma inclusion funding
Deputy Gerry Adams asks whether the new Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy will be backed by extra funding and properly implemented by local authorities. The Taoiseach refers the reply to Minister Charles Flanagan, who says the strategy will be prioritised and funded through forthcoming Estimates.
Last week the Government published the new National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021. I remarked previously that the recognition of Traveller ethnicity on 1 March was an important symbolic gesture by the Government. Will additional funding be made available for the new strategy? Without additional resources, the inclusion strategy cannot hope to address issues such as poverty, inequality, institutionalised discrimination and the deficit in education that many Travellers suffer from.
It is also a fact that many local authorities fail to draw down funding available for Traveller sites. There is no penalty included in the new strategy. Can the Taoiseach confirm that this will be rectified and when will the Government publish the review of funding for Traveller accommodation due to be published this month by the Housing Agency?
Comment on this
In response to Deputy Adams, I acknowledge progress in this regard by my Department, in particular, by the Minister of State, Deputy David Stanton. I am pleased Deputy Stanton was reaffirmed in his position by the Government this morning. Of course, as part of that strategy, we will be seeking appropriate funding in the context of forthcoming Estimates. I wish to assure the House, in particular, Deputy Adams, that this is an initiative on the part of Government that will be receiving priority in my Department.