Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Reviews Ireland

21 July 2005

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed concern at Ireland's position with regard to the recognition of Travellers as an ethnic group and encouraged the "State party to work more concretely towards recognizing the Traveller community as an ethnic group." The CERD also advised that "all necessary measures be urgently taken to improve access by Travellers to all levels of education, their employment rates as well as their access to health services and to accommodation suitable to their lifestyle." The CERD additionally commented on the "situation faced by women belonging to vulnerable groups and at the instances of multiple discrimination they may be subject to", recommending the State party "to take measures with regard to the special needs of women belonging to minority and other vulnerable groups, in particular female Travellers, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers." The full text is available online. Further information on the situation of Travellers in Ireland can be found on ERRC's website at: http://errc.org.

(ERRC)