Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2025
84. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide an update on the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy II - Action Plan 2024-2026; the measures that are still outstanding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72964/25]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy II 2024 – 2028 (NTRIS II) and accompanying first Action Plan 2024-2026 were launched by the then Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman T.D., on 31st July 2024. Under NTRIS II oversight arrangements, relevant Departments and State Agencies are responsible for their actions under the NTRIS II Action Plan. They are also required to provide progress updates on implementation of their actions on a bi-annual basis.
To date the Department of Children, Disability and Equality has published two progress reports on implementation, covering the periods October to December 2024 and January to June 2025, on the Traveller and Roma Inclusion webpages (gov.ie).
Based on updates received from Departments and their Agencies, broadly speaking progress has been made towards implementation of actions across all nine themes of the Strategy. The Department is currently compiling updates for the period July to December 2025, and will be publishing an Annual Report for 2025 in the coming months.
The Department of Children, Disability and Equality has lead responsibility for a number actions in the first Action Plan. Key actions completed include:
• The Equal Start model, which was launched in May 2024, has been successfully rolled out since September 2024 and benefits Traveller and Roma children.
• In line with the roll out of Equal Start model, Family Link Workers have been appointed in all 17 Tusla areas. Family Link Workers engage with Traveller parents of young children, supporting them to attend and participate in Early Learning and Care and school-age childcare. Two Early Years Specialists (covering both Traveller and Roma) have also been appointed to work in Better Start Quality Support Service.
• The independent evaluation of the Traveller and Roma Education Community Development Worker Scheme has been completed.
• The National Traveller and Roma Consultative Forum was established in October 2025.
• 80th Anniversary of Roma Genocide commemorated in September 2024.
• Funding was provided for Traveller Pride Week and International Roma Day.
• The review of functions, processes and membership of the NTRIS II Steering Committee was completed with a smaller more strategic Steering Committee put in place for the oversight of NTRIS II.
• Reforms to the reporting arrangements for monitoring implementation of NTRIS II were completed and two NTRIS II Steering Committee Meetings were held in 2025. The terms of reference for the Steering Committee were also completed.
This Department and other Departments and Agencies are continuing to work on a range of initiatives and actions under each thematic area of NTRIS II.
These include:
• Implementation of the Traveller and Roma Education Strategy
• Implementation of the National Traveller Health Action Plan
• Preparation of the first National Traveller Heritage Strategy
• Supporting the further development of counselling and mediation services available to Travellers and Roma
• Further development of the Civil Service Traveller and Roma Placement Programme.
Other initiatives that contribute to the achievement of the NTRIS II objectives include the National Action Plan Against Racism and the other national equality strategies such as National LGBTIQ+ Inclusion Strategy II and the new National Strategy for Women and Girls.
