Pavee Point has said it would be “extremely naive” for the Travelling community to suggest there are no criminal elements in its midst.
Martin Collins, a co-director with the Traveller rights group, was speaking after Sinn Féin justice spokesman Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said some of the “mistrust” felt by the settled community was justified by “very poor behaviour and worse” on the part of some Travellers.
Mr Mac Lochlainn, who is half Traveller and has urged the State to recognise the community as an ethnic group, said: “There is criminality within the Travelling community. They are a disgrace, those involved in criminality, they let down their own community and they shame their own community.”
Mr Collins said it would be “extremely naive for any of us to suggest for one second there isn’t an element in our community involved in criminal activity”.
“That would be just nonsense,” he said. “The point I think Padraig is trying to make is that the rest of the Travellers are being held to account for the minority within the minority who are involved in this behaviour. That’s not acceptable.
“You can’t stereotype and demonise a whole community of people just because of the behaviour of a number within the community.”
Mr Collins added that it was not the responsibility of Travellers to police other Travellers.
“When it comes to Travellers there is an expectation that 100 per cent of Travellers are expected to behave well 100 per cent of the time and it’s only then that Travellers will be treated with respect and dignity,” he said. “We don’t accept that of any other community so there is a case of double standards.
“It’s wrong, it’s unacceptable, and those people need to be held to account, but it’s not up to Travellers to police other Travellers.
“Traveller organisations need to work with the gardaí – and they are working with the gardaí – so that people are held to account for their bad behaviour, but we don’t expect other settled people to police or account for the behaviour of other settled people. That’s just not on.”
Irish Traveller Movement director Brigid Quilligan said Mr Mac Louchlainn’s remarks taken in isolation could present a misleading portrayal of his position in relation to the Travelling community.
“They were made in a bigger context,” she said. “There is a minority of people engaged in criminality within the Traveller community, but he contextualised that by saying that also exists in the settled community.
“When you see what he said out of context, I can see why people might find it offensive but his wider speech was wholeheartedly in favour and full support of Travellers.
“He was acknowledging, as we have done in the past, that there is a small minority of our community engaged in criminality - and we will call those people out as well.”
