“The Irish government should ensure that the economic upturn benefits the most vulnerable groups and should promote equality of Travellers, women and children by removing the barriers that disproportionately hinder them from fully enjoying their rights”, said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks, in a report released today based on a visit to the country carried out in November 2016.
The Commissioner welcomes the government’s recent recognition of Travellers’ ethnicity. However, he remains concerned by the very negative impact of a reduction in the State’s support for the Traveller community following the economic crisis in 2008. “The Irish authorities, including at local level, should reinvest in the community and improve access of Travellers and Roma to education, health, housing and employment, as well as to legal remedies in cases of discrimination. They should also provide adequate safeguards against forced evictions”.