Press Release May 2006
04-05-06
"Roma and Travellers in Public Education. – An Overview of the Situation in EU Member States."
Report published today by the European Unions Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC)
From its base in Vienna, the EUMC today publishes the first overview of Traveller and Roma Education in the EU, including in Ireland. Speaking of the launch of the report, Anastasia Crickley, Chairperson of the EUMC said:
"This publication is extremely important for all member states of the Union including Ireland. It underlines again the seriousness of the discrimination experienced by Travellers and Roma."
"Segregation in all its forms is highlighted as the major obstacle for Roma and Traveller children in education systems throughout the European Union. Calls for the development of national education strategies, which systematically address segregation and combat discrimination and prejudice, and for the inclusion of Traveller and Roma Groups in their development are crucial"
"Special disengagement programmes may be needed in order to transfer and integrate Travellers and Roma in regular education but these need to be targeted and time-lined, not becoming ends in themselves. As the report highlights, measuring is needed in order to manage and monitor the impact of policies on Roma and Traveller Education. Education authorities need to collect differentiated data for these purposes."
"In Ireland, Traveller outcomes from second level education, particularly at Senior Cycle, need improvement. There is also an urgent need to secure full Traveller participation and integration in mainstream second level education. This is challenging for all but it is the only successful route to long-term equivalence in participation of Travellers at Higher Level Education. Special initiatives are required and in particular, clear time-limited targets. I hope this report can support and reinforce the National Education Strategy which the Department of Education has been working on alongside Traveller organisations."
The EUMC is an independent agency of the European Union tasked with collecting reliable, comparable and objective data on Racism and Xenophobia, generating awareness, and informing initiatives to address these discriminations. It has an independent Board with representatives from each member state, a staff based in Vienna and contracts national focal points for research purposes. Anastasia Crickley, the Irish representative is the current Chairperson of the Centre.
Anastasia Crickley:
- Chairperson, European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC)
- Chairperson, National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI)
- Head of Department, Dept. of Applied Social Studies, National University of Ireland, Maynooth.
Anastasia is available for comment on 01 7083744
Further information: EUMC website at eumc.eu.intIssued by Pavee Point Travellers Centre, 46 North Great Charles St.,
Dublin 1. Ph: 01 8780255