A Senator often feels “rejection by society” and keeps her “head down” when going out for a night, wondering, “Am I going to be refused?” an Oireachtas committee heard on Thursday.
Senator Eileen Flynn, a Traveller woman, said “hatred has gone through the roof” in recent years and “white settled people don’t see this”.
The committee, which was discussing obstacles faced by Travellers trying to access suitable housing, heard presentations from the Free Legal Advice Centres (Flac) and the Community Law and Mediation (CLM) service, during which Senator Flynn made an impassioned plea for greater supports for Travellers facing racism.
“You have to be a member of the Traveller community to really understand the level of discrimination, the level of ill-treatment and hatred that Travellers have to go through ... that includes in accommodation. I don’t believe the services are there [to combat discrimination],” she said.
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“There really is no support for a member of the Travelling community to take a discrimination case,” she continued, calling for increased availability of free legal aid for minorities fighting discrimination.
“You need at least 20 CLMs and Flacs in Ireland to deal with the demand ... Travellers would have ... the level of racism and discrimination, hatred has gone through the roof ... People are in dire need of support in the justice system, in accommodation ... Things are getting worse with discrimination not just for Travellers but for other minority groups as well.”
She said people from minorities were nervous about taking cases and asserting their rights.
“Every single day, even as we’re speaking here, I am sure to God there’s a Traveller woman in a shopping centre somewhere being followed just because she’s a member of Traveller community. It’s happened to me numerous times. You go into a shop and you’re followed ... that level of intimidation has such an impact on your self-esteem, your wellbeing ... you lose your train of thoughts for what you went really into the shop for,” she said.
“I am so passionate because I know white settled people don’t see this. If I was even going out in Donegal – I am 34 years of age and a public representative – I walk in with my head down thinking, ‘Am I going to be refused?’ Imagine not having that sense of being able to thrive and enjoy life because of that rejection by society.”
[ Travellers’ right to accommodation not in line with European Social CharterOpens in new window ]
Mary Heavey, housing law solicitor with CLM, said there was a “huge unmet need for legal advice in the Traveller community”, especially in relation to housing. “The failure of local authorities to provide access to emergency accommodation has left CLMs’ clients sleeping in cars, in tents or in dangerously overcrowded or grossly unsuitable living conditions.”
Sinead Lucey, managing solicitor with Flac, said the service was inundated with calls from Travellers about discrimination in accessing services, including accommodation, and did not have resources to respond to them all. “We can’t touch a fraction of the calls,” she said.
“Very few of the cases we deal with really come down to an issue of resourcing and they often come down to an issue of attitude and perspective,” she added. Citing a case of a homeless Traveller family of six, which ended up in the High Court last year, she said: “Suddenly a house was procured. It often isn’t resources.”
Both organisations called for the exclusion of planned Traveller accommodation schemes from the Part 8 process which allows members of the public to object; a review of eviction legislation so Traveller family homes cannot be “interfered with” without “a merits-based determination” by the courts and alternative appropriate accommodation; and the introduction of enforceable minimum-standards Traveller housing.
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