REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE PAVEE POINT ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE PAVEE POINT ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE CLONTARF CASTLE, CLONTARF, DUBLIN 3
Dia dhíbh a cháirde. Tá an-áthas orm bheith i bhur measc anseo ar an ócáid speisialta seo. Míle bhuíochas díbh as an gcuireadh agus an fáilte a thug sibh dom.
I would like to thank Ronnie Fay, Director, for her very kind invitation to open the Pavee Point Anniversary Conference and to congratulate Pavee Point Travellers Centre on 20 years of seriously hard work dedicated to improving the lives, health and education of Travellers, to promoting and showcasing their culture, increasing tolerance and understanding between all who share this land and advancing the rights and welfare of Ireland’s travelling people.
Twenty years ago you faced a huge struggle. Back then not a single traveller child transferred from primary to secondary education. All the talent and potential that education alone can unlock was tragically lost for too many people. Today that story has changed dramatically and I meet the ambitious traveller boys and girls in schools and training centres all over Ireland. I meet travellers who are elected public representatives or who are university graduates and I know how proud you are that the first barrister to come from the traveller community was called to the Bar earlier this year. Back 20 years ago the health of travellers was a huge concern that went unrecognised. Today I meet traveller women who have trained as primary healthcare workers and are now working as important members of professional healthcare teams to ensure the coming generations of travellers have the same life expectancy and as good health as the rest of the population. When you started, traveller accommodation was a massive struggle that seemed to go around in circles, but thanks to you, there are today in Ireland some fine examples of partnerships between local authorities, local communities and travellers which are beginning to set new standards in practice and in accommodation for the future.
So on this day we could look at all the problems yet to be solved, all the mountains yet to be climbed, and they are going to take a lot of effort to tackle, but when you consider all that has been achieved these 20 years, all the painful and difficult steps to change and to progress, you are entitled to be very proud of what you have accomplished and very confident about the future. Pavee Point has made a stand for one Irish minority that is an inspiration to others in this Ireland of increasing cultural diversity. We have a lot of work to do to make absolutely sure that the
Ireland we are building has no room for the racism or bigotry which makes some feel second- class. In our Republic all are equals and entitled to the fullest expression of their dignity and entitled to the fullest respect. The embrace of our Constitution is for everyone and our ambition as a people is to make sure that every human being gets the chance to blossom without being held back by discrimination or poverty or by lack of education.
This is a rapidly changing and vastly changed Ireland. The pace of life has suddenly gone from a walk to a gallop and both Travellers and settled people alike have had to try to adjust to all the new pressures and changes that are part of Ireland’s economic success story. Never before has there been so much opportunity in Ireland and it is absolutely vital that the Travelling community access and use those opportunities to make a better life all round for the future. The journey to that better future is not one that the Travelling community has to go alone for it is the responsibility of all of us as a society.
Today that journey is made easier by new supportive structures like the Equality Authority and the Equality Tribunal or laws like the Employment Equality Acts and the Equal Status Acts which specifically outlaw discrimination against the Traveller community. Together these send out a powerful message to everyone in Ireland that we insist on high standards of respectful behaviour to one another. Honest and open dialogue between the settled and traveller members of our community is essential if the old distrustful two-way attitudes are to become a thing of the past. There is so much to be looked forward to from the kind of society where there is a fluent partnership between all sectors, where all work together to improve life for each other. Too much energy and potential gets wasted where there is conflict, ignorance and mistrust. That is why Pavee Point is so important not just to Travellers but to all of Irish society. In a little over one generation this organisation has steered Irish Travellers through the most convulsive period of peaceful change in our history. But we are still only at the start of the journey. What the future holds for the young traveller boys and girls here today and their children depends on the leadership, the vision and the courage they are offered today. Twenty years ago Pavee Point set out a new vision and gave fresh leadership. The evidence is in a job well done and that the future is safely in very experienced hands.
I congratulate Pavee Point on its contribution to achieving that new Ireland, and wish you every success in the future.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh.