Thursday, Nov 05 —Today, Pavee Point (and colleagues) are delighted to attend and speak at the 19th European Platform for Roma Inclusion at Clontarf Castle, hosted by the European Commission and the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU. This year’s focus is on tackling inequalities in education and employment and sharing promising practices from across Europe.
Co-Director Martin Collins delivered a welcoming address on behalf of Travellers and Roma during the opening ceremony, highlighting how inequalities in education and employment are closely linked to systemic racism, discrimination poor living conditions and health inequalities. He emphasised the urgent need for the full implementation of policies for Traveller and Roma inclusion and sustained resourcing for civil society organisations.
Community and Youth Worker Tracey Reilly shared her own journey through education and employment, highlighting the racism, discrimination and structural barriers that continue to limit opportunities for Travellers and Roma women. She called for education and employment policies to translate into meaningful opportunities and outcomes.
Congratulations to all our colleagues from Traveller organisations and groups working with Roma across Ireland and Europe who contributed to today’s discussions, ensuring that Traveller and Roma perspectives and priorities remain central to European policy and its implementation.
#Ireland2026EU #TravellerRights #RomaRights #OpreRoma
SPEECH BY MARTIN COLLINS:
Toum, Beoirs, Glokes, Pavee, Minceir, Roma, Your Geels, Sunie Torin.
Good women and men, Travellers, non-Travellers, I look forward to the conversation.
Welcome to Dublin for the 19th EU Platform on Roma and Traveller inclusion entitled “Breaking Barriers, Building Futures: Participation in Education and Employment”. But of course as we all know you cannot speak about employment and education opportunities without speaking and addressing systemic racism, residential segregation, and poor living conditions. In this regard, the EU Roma Strategic Framework for Equality, Inclusion and Participation 2020-2030 with its seven objectives in addition to the above and three horizontal areas as named in the strategy itself and its four sectoral areas of education, employment, health and housing offers an integrated, coordinated multidimensional approach in addressing these issues.
We live in a very troubled, challenging time. Wider geo-political, economic contexts have implications for our work. We see the backsliding of human rights and a very architecture designed to protect and vindicate people’s rights is being undermined. We see multilateralism being replaced by unilateralism and protectionism. I say this by way of setting the context and challenges, not to allow ourselves to be demoralised, on the contrary, this should strengthen our resolve and determination to protect what we have achieved and continue to build on it.
We have the data from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) survey (2025) and other sources that demonstrate the ongoing exclusion, inequality and racism experienced by Pavees, Roma and other related groups throughout Europe. The manifestations of this exclusion and racism is evident in the squalor and deprivation, poor housing/accommodation that far too many Roma and Travellers endure. It is also evident in poor outcomes from education and employment, although I do note there has been some improvement for Travellers and Roma in accessing education and employment, this is welcome, but it is not enough and we need to do more, in addition to addressing the significant health inequalities and lower life expectancy experienced by Pavees, Roma and other related groups. During the day the panel discussions will provide an opportunity to have a deep dive into these issues and put forward potential solutions. What is clear is we cannot allow the present situation to continue as this only facilitates a life which is one of mere existence rather than living and reaching one’s full potential. Equality and human rights are not abstract, they are not peripheral, these principles are core to human existence and co-existence.
According to FRA, “no Member State is likely to achieve the EU-level goals set in the EU Roma Strategy 2020-2030 concerning anti-Traveller and anti-Roma racism”. This must be our starting point and acknowledgement that targets set in the Council of Europe Strategy for Roma and Traveller Inclusion (2026-2030) will not be achieved. In the main, many policies and strategies have been developed both at a EU and national level, in a spirit of constructive partnership between civil society organisations representing Travellers and Roma and other related groups and European and national institutions. All of us in this room are only too painfully aware, in particular Travellers and Roma, that the ongoing challenge is implementation. Today’s conference allows us to challenge ourselves and challenge each other to find more innovative and effective structures and processes of implementation. We have both a moral and legal obligation to create the conditions where the human rights of Pavees, Roma and other related groups are fully realised and to prevent the cycle of poverty, inequality and racism becoming normalised and becoming intergenerational. These challenges are not insurmountable, we have the collective intellectual capacity and experience in our respective roles as duty bearers and rights holders to move from performative to transformative change. Our collective ambition should be to create a Europe that fully realises its core values on human rights, equality, democracy and rule of law. Anything short of this would be a stain on Europe and its institutions, which as we all know is one of the richest regions in the world.
As we know, the Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034 is now being discussed, it is very concerning that there is a proposal on the table at the moment to reduce the Agora funding from 8,6 billion to 6 billion. If this was materialised it would have serious implications for civil society organisations in their work and advocacy on human rights, social inclusion, community development and democracy. This timeline also coincides with a successor to the present EU Framework Strategy and that needs to be fully resourced and funded in terms of its full and effective implementation.
In conclusion, again from speaking our own language, Tome Pavees/Minceirs, Roma, Your Geels- Aswuirt- Mislie’n a Tober Thadyr: Strong Travellers – Rising – Going the Road with Pride.