Remarks by President Mary McAleese On the launch of the Southside Partnership Report “Moving On”
Remarks by President Mary McAleese On the launch of the Southside Partnership Report “Moving On” Traveller Participation
I am very pleased and delighted to be with you today for your special seminar and for the launch of your report “Moving On” which deals with Traveller Participation in Post-Primary Education and Training. I would like to thank Sara Boyce of the Southside Partnership and the Travellers Interest Group for her kind invitation.
I am particularly pleased that within the parameters of the Southside Partnership you have made great progress in studying an aspect of education in which I have a very keen interest. The Report which examines in detail the reasons for non-participation of young Travellers in post-primary education is a great achievement. This is, therefore, an occasion for celebration and I wish to commend you all for your energy, commitment and hard work in producing such an excellent report and for organising such an important seminar.
In his foreword to the Report, Fr. Dan O’Connell, Chairperson of the Travellers Interest Group, makes the important point that the Report must be acted on, and that its recommendations must be implemented if we are to see a satisfactory increase in the participation levels of young Travellers in Post-Primary education in the future. I think everyone here will endorse his sentiments and will be anxious to ensure that all the valuable work which has gone into producing this Report will not go to waste. I am delighted that the members of the Travelling community played such a prominent role in the compilation of the whole report.
In many of the settled communities throughout Ireland, early school leaving is becoming a huge problem with the result that many young people are unable to access decent employment because they leave school with the minimum of qualifications and skills. Every section of society is entitled to participate fully in community life and this includes equal participation in education and training for the Traveller community. The reasons why only five per cent of travellers, between the ages of twelve and fifteen, participate in mainstream post-primary education are many. In fact, there are no participants at all in the over fifteen age bracket within the Southside Partnership area, and the Partnership is determined that it will do everything it can to address this problem - and has identified Travellers as a special target group within their area.
Travellers have a distinct culture and have every right to maintain that culture and to be respected for it by the settled population. However, within that culture there is no tradition of attending post-primary education, and it is understandable that many young Travellers might continue to feel that post-primary education has no relevance to them. Some young Travellers can feel isolated within their own communities if they break the mould and become the first to participate. This feeling can be compounded when they attend mainstream post-primary courses only to find that they are perhaps the only Traveller in the class. The education of Travellers is based on the principle of total integration into the life of this dynamic country and much progress has been made by Traveller parents, sometimes in very difficult circumstances, to promote the education of their children.
We are living in exciting and fruitful times in our country. It is important for all of us and especially for the Travelling Community that we play our part and benefit from the economic progress our country is undergoing at present.
The Southside Partnership’s efforts to try to improve the quality of life for the Traveller community is a further example of how working in partnership is enabling communities to tackle serious social and economic problems with others, through open discussion, and helping to break down barriers of hostility and misunderstanding.
The exclusion experienced by Travellers in many aspects of their lives continues to be a reality. A great deal has yet to be accomplished so that Travellers can participate fully and be embraced as members of an ethnic group in Irish society. There is a growing need to promote greater integration and interculturalism in our schools and in our society. It is incumbent on all of us to support the Traveller community – to help them achieve their rights as citizens by working with them in solidarity – and by actively discouraging outdated attitudes and prejudices.
While there are close to 5,000 Traveller children enrolled in primary schools, we need to foster the transfer from primary to post-primary and I commend the post-primary schools that have made such an excellent progress in this sphere already, where there are about 650 pupils in post-primary schools. Great credit must go to the Traveller parents whose children attend school regularly and punctually throughout the school year. This is not an easy task and I wish to pay a particular tribute to them for their enthusiasm and commitment.
In conclusion I wish to thank you all for supporting Traveller parents who, as well as young Travellers, need encouragement for accessing and participating in education. Parents have a hugely influential role in relation to their children’s education, and they need opportunities for their own educational development. Developments such as Traveller Women’s courses provide opportunities for Traveller women to obtain skills they themselves identify, such as literacy, provided in a culturally affirming environment. It is vital that such developments are fully resourced and supported by the statutory agencies.