The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe says he was “struck by the consensus” on a recent visit to Ireland that “structural” racism hinders access to basic rights for members of the Roma and Traveller communities.
In a submission to the Government recommending a wide range of measures, Dr Michael O’Flaherty said this consensus view included Government officials and that the discrimination involved permeated “all aspects” of the lives of those impacted.
His recommendations include the repeal of some existing pieces of legislation, the establishment of new legal protections and the provision of additional supports.
Dr O’Flaherty, a human rights lawyer originally from Galway, is the fifth Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe, the oldest political body in Europe that aims to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
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In a memorandum to the Government published on Tuesday, he has recommended actions across areas including justice, housing, education and health after community representatives identified policy failures or issues of discrimination in all to him.
Among the recommendations made are the provision of more culturally appropriate accommodation for members of the Roma and Traveller communities.
He also suggests access to legal aid for civil cases involving complaints of discrimination and the recruitment of more Roma and Traveller community members to teaching to help address bullying and racism in schools.
In terms of the criminal justice system, the memorandum highlights research that found Travellers are hugely over-represented among the prison population with members of the community feeling “over-policed” but “under protected” by a system constructed “by settled people for settled people” in which they feel discriminated against by members of the Garda Siochána and the judiciary.
Individual Traveller women reported being hesitant to report episodes of domestic violence after being told by individual gardaí that such episodes were normal in their community and did not merit action.
Dr O’Flaherty acknowledges, however, there are many contributory factors in relation to the Travelling community being over-represented in the prison system including poverty and exclusion.
His memorandum comes after he spent several days during October meeting representatives of the Traveller and Roma communities.
He also met academics, officials from public bodies and government officials including ministers and senior civil servants.
During the period he visited halting sites in Dublin and Limerick where, he says, he witnessed “very basic and overcrowded conditions, with an insufficient number and quality of sanitary facilities”.
He reported that Travellers believe they are being failed by the social housing system and struggling in a “hostile” private rental market.
The commissioner acknowledged progress and ongoing work by Government and other agencies.
However, he said members of the Roma and Traveller communities continue to face huge challenges and negative outcomes in areas such as health, including mental health, with life expectancy more than 10 years higher for the general population than for Travellers who are seven times more likely to die by suicide.
In response, the Government says it will give “careful attention” to the report, the issues highlighted and the recommendations made but identifies a long list of measures already taken or that are in progress or planned to address specific concerns of the Roma and Traveller communities or wider instances of racism, inequality or discrimination.
On housing, it said allocated capital funding for Traveller-specific accommodation is €23 million this year, an increase of 59 per cent since 2020 while wider public spending on the sector is also substantially up.
It said moves to change the law to allow the Workplace Relations Commission rather than the District Court to deal with complaints in relation to discrimination in pubs and other licensed premises was started by the last government.
Significant work is ongoing, it said, in relation to the issues raised around justice, education and health with progress already made on a number of fronts.
