Ahead of Budget 2027, Pavee Point was delighted to contribute to the annual pre-Budget submission by the Community Platform.
The submission calls on the Government to take ownership of their legacy and to adequately address poverty, social exclusion and inequality.
Racism and exclusion, housing and homelessness, and quality employment represent urgent budgetary vulnerabilities for Travellers and Roma, alongside other marginalised groups, in the submission.
Addressing racism and exclusion, the submission calls for a dedicated, ring-fenced implementation fund for the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS) II, with an increase of 20% to the current annual NTRIS implementation budget.
The submission calls for a ring-fenced, 35% budget increase to fully implement the National Traveller Health Action Plan; this will sustain Traveller Primary Health Care Projects, improve workforce recruitment and retention, and fund the roll out of the Traveller Mental Health Action Plan. Equally, an adequate and ringfenced budget is called for in order to secure and allocate for the implementation of the Roma Health Action Plan in 2027.
An increase of 25% to the current budget for the Traveller and Roma Education Strategy is also called for: dedicated and ringfenced with associated timelines and targets.
Regarding housing and homelessness, a broad call is made for the significant increase in State-led investment in housing and accommodation, whereby 20% of all housing
in the state should be social and affordable housing (as recommended by the Housing Commission). In this, a substantial increase in the delivery of culturally appropriate Traveller accommodation is called for.
In terms of quality employment, the resourcing and implementation of the long-awaited Traveller and Roma employment, training and enterprise action plan is called for, along with the scaling up of the Civil Service Traveller and Roma Placement Programme and the expansion of long-term hiring targeted employment public services and local authorities.
Read the full submission here: https://communityplatform.ie/community-platform/