Limerick Traveller Family story in Irish Times

bigpink

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2011/1128/1224308217459.html

Well Travellers wanted to be treated equal but then they want to be an seperate ethic race:rolleyes:

Imo let them rot there,christ if they can't at least clean up after themselves

krudler

The boy who says he’s Tommy declares “We don’t want to live on an estate. We want to keep away from everyone. We want somewhere a bit out the country. And we want half an acre for our dogs and horses.”

cheeky fcukers, pay taxes if you want to live where you want like the rest of us do. lol at the "we live in a dump" comment, like it was like that when they moved in?

The Snipe

krudler wrote: »

The boy who says he’s Tommy declares “We don’t want to live on an estate. We want to keep away from everyone. We want somewhere a bit out the country. And we want half an acre for our dogs and horses.”

cheeky fcukers, pay taxes if you want to live where you want like the rest of us do. lol at the "we live in a dump" comment, like it was like that when they moved in?

Jaysus! I always knew something was off about IO :P

bigpink

Don't think the Casey Family would be wanted in any bars or hotels in Limerick

bobbysands81

'Travellers' have as much a claim to ethnic minority status as 'Mayo Hurlers' have.

blatantrereg

wow some of the comments here. Talk about tarring everyone with the same brush.

Why would being considered a different ethnicity be contradictory with being treated as equals?

Go join stormfront or something tbh.

Kristopherus

bobbysands81 wrote: »

'Travellers' have as much a claim to ethnic minority status as 'Mayo Hurlers' have.

Wtf do you mean by that coimparision?

Berty

If they want houses let them buy some houses. They wouldn't be the first or last travellers to either own homes or want to buy homes or want the council to buy them homes.

Frankly the welfare system of this country is not designed to help people who do not want to contribute, it was designed for people who cannot contribute and/or afford their own home.

To be all politically correct about it. If you want a house then let them be "means tested" for it. If they pass then join the back of the queue and if they don't qualify then it is not beause they are a traveller. It is because they simply don't qualify.

gaf1983

Kids can often tell the truth, and the truth can often hurt:

...Or you can buy a house and pay a mortgage like everyone else,” interjects one of the children, after their father has finished explaining what he hopes the council will provide them with. Nobody makes any response to this.

While I have no doubt that they don't live in the nicest conditions, the fact that they were constantly changing their stories or not speaking to the journalist doesn't help their cause, I think.

Second good article on Limerick this month from Rosita Boland, here's one she wrote about a night spent in the A&E waiting room in the Regional:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2011/1112/1224307440996.html

bobbysands81

Kristopherus wrote: »

Wtf do you mean by that coimparision?

Somebody called Travellers an ethnic minority, they're not.* I'm pointing out that Mayo Hurlers have as much right to call themselves an ethnic minority as Travellers do.

*This is not a slur on Travellers, many travellers themselves don't consider themselves an ethnic minority.

For the record (and clarity) I'm using the Collins English Dictionary definition of ethnic minority:

ethnic minority

an immigrant or racial group regarded by those claiming to speak for the cultural majority as distinct and unassimilated

Kristopherus

The Mayo Hurlers will be chuffed:D:D:D

bigpink

Stormfront a bit extreme i say lol.I dont abuse or attack travellers on the street however my opinion is i dont like them based on bad experiences of them

If they have bad conditions there why dont they try improve them a bit for themselves its not very hard to clean up after themselves

Sid_Justice

Travellers are genetically distinct with their own culture and language. I don't see any reason why they shouldn't get ethnically distinct status.

bigpink

Sid_Justice wrote: »

Travellers are genetically distinct with their own culture and language. I don't see any reason why they shouldn't get ethnically distinct status.

Let them have there culture and language but we should not be paying for there lifestyle,and they are playing the ethic race card

Same in schools there is traveller education why cant they just go to school like everyone else

I know of one school in Limerick that a taxi was paid for to bring the travellers kids to school

jonski

Sid_Justice wrote: »

Travellers are genetically distinct with their own culture and language. I don't see any reason why they shouldn't get ethnically distinct status.

That may be so , but some of them wouldn't agree with you .

“There’s no such thing as a Traveller,” Billy declares. “We all came out of houses before the Famine".

kinseydub

Sid_Justice wrote: »

Travellers are genetically distinct with their own culture and language. I don't see any reason why they shouldn't get ethnically distinct status.

Could you elaborate how travellers are genetically distinct ?

Sid_Justice

Travellers' rarely breed with people outside the travelling community. They have a high prevalence of deleterious, recessive genetic traits, e.g. CF, haemochromatosis, Galactosemia.

Brennans Row

Images from article

bigpink wrote: »

. . . . . . Imo let them rot there, . . . . .

krudler wrote: »

cheeky fcukers, . . . . .

I think that was a pretty cheap shot to degrade these people like that with such derogatory remarks.

You certainly don’t display an appreciation for good journalism.

The Casey women folk should be commended for accepting the Irish Times reporter into their homes, especially as they left themselves very vulnerable to all sorts of verbal abuse (see above).

These Irish Times articles on travellers are really helpful and hopefully they might help change some peoples’ mind-sets into seeing travellers as fellow human beings too.

Last Saturday’s article “Travellers on Travellers” was an amazing read too.

Kess73

Sid_Justice wrote: »

Travellers' rarely breed with people outside the travelling community. They have a high prevalence of deleterious, recessive genetic traits, e.g. CF, haemochromatosis, Galactosemia.

A lot of the recessive traits you mention can be caused by breeding within one community, or mild inbreeding to put another term onto it.

It does not make them genetically distinct in the true meaning of that phrase.

A large amount of them are Irish born to Irish born parents and so on and so on for many many generations. They have in some cases genetic anomolies caused by staying within a small breeding population, but that is by choice and not a true genetic difference.


If any travellers avail of the same social services available to any other Irish person, then they should be seen in the same manner as any other Irish citizen and afforded the same rights and be expected to live by the same laws.

What is wrong in my eyes is that some travellers (and some non travellers) seem to be under the impression that they can pick and choose what they want to be able to get for free, and also to be able to decide to be exempt from what they want.

Kess73

Brennans Row wrote: »

Images from article






I think that was a pretty cheap shot to degrade these people like that with such derogatory remarks.

You certainly don’t display an appreciation for good journalism.

The Casey women folk should be commended for accepting the Irish Times reporter into their homes, especially as they left themselves very vulnerable to all sorts of verbal abuse (see above).

These Irish Times articles on travellers are really helpful and hopefully they might help change some peoples’ mind-sets into seeing travellers as fellow human beings too.

Last Saturday’s article “Travellers on Travellers” was an amazing read too.

I find myself both agreeing with you and strongly disagreeing with you.

Mainly because I see Travellers simply as people, and as people they are made up of the same types as any other group in society. There are good ones, bad ones, happy one, contrary ones and so on.

When it comes to Travellers in Limerick with the Casey surname, I can think of examples that I personally know that I would regard as top notch people, and I can think of a few whose actions have me regarding them as vile excuses for people.

As with a lot of topics that attract heated debate, I think the subject of travellers too often attracts extremes of opinion, and the middle ground (where the truth often lies) tends to be ignored and not explored.

gaf1983

bobbysands81 wrote: »

'Travellers' have as much a claim to ethnic minority status as 'Mayo Hurlers' have.

A cousin of mine plays for the Mayo hurling team, and he pays rent for his house.

I thought one of the most depressing lines in the piece was this:

Bridget (39) has lived here for 17 years, and “is still waiting for a house”.

What does that mean? In 2006, she would have been 34, and the national rate of unemployment was between 4 and 5 per cent. So was she waiting for a house all through the Celtic Tiger too, or did she try to get a job during this period of unprecedented high employment, in order to shorten her wait for a house?

I don't know the answer to that question, the article doesn't address those points, and I also appreciate that some travellers do suffer discrimination in the labour market. However, it does seem to be a rather defeatist attitude, to be waiting for that long for a house.

I don't know whether it's important or not whether travellers get an ethnically distinct status or not. Personally I think it serves to widen the divide between them and the rest of society. While I do think they have a distinct culture, I agree with Kess73 here:

If any travellers avail of the same social services available to any other Irish person, then they should be seen in the same manner as any other Irish citizen and afforded the same rights and be expected to live by the same laws.

Cathal McCarthy, a Limerick-based sometimes Irish Independent columnist made the same point in an article written in 2008:

The good people of Pavee Point must see the fairly crippling paradox at the heart of their world view. They insist that Travellers be seen as a distinct collective, an identifiable and self-validating ethnic minority. They insist that we all proceed on that basis -- whether we find the version credible or not. But the insistence on treatment as a seamless, ethnic whole comes apart the very instant that Travellers engage in the kind of behaviour that we all saw last Tuesday -- and some of us saw from very much closer than I would fancy. At that stage, we start hearing about a tiny minority, certain individual families, and the dangers of tarring everyone with the same brush.

And they're right: it is stupid and illogical to tar everyone with the same brush. That's why Pavee Point should stop doing it for, and on behalf of, an arbitrarily chosen subset of my fellow citizens of Ireland, who look the same as me, practise the same religion (generally more devoutly than me) and bear the same surname, but who espouse a quirky scepticism to new-fangled stuff like literacy and formal education and seem to favour living in houses with wheels on the corners.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/its-a-choice-to-bypass-the-law-and-reach-for-the-slash-hook-instead-1445623.html

jmch81

There was a show on RTE earlier in the year about the dna of travellers. Not on rte player any more, but link below to the page giving info and the boards thread about it
http://www.rte.ie/tv/programmes/blood_of_the_travellers.html

And the boards thread:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056275415

Sid_Justice

Kess73 wrote: »

A lot of the recessive traits you mention can be caused by breeding within one community, or mild inbreeding to put another term onto it.

Their high prevalence is caused by inbreeding.

It does not make them genetically distinct in the true meaning of that phrase

.

Yes it does.

A large amount of them are Irish born to Irish born parents and so on and so on for many many generations.

irish parents who didn't mix with other irish people

They have in some cases genetic anomolies caused by staying within a small breeding population, but that is by choice and not a true genetic difference.

yes it is

If any travellers avail of the same social services available to any other Irish person, then they should be seen in the same manner as any other Irish citizen and afforded the same rights and be expected to live by the same laws.

Perhaps you don't understand the difference between ethnicity, nationality and citizenship. Perhaps you might look them up in a dictionary.

What is wrong in my eyes is that some travellers (and some non travellers) seem to be under the impression that they can pick and choose what they want to be able to get for free, and also to be able to decide to be exempt from what they want.

so nothing to do with ethnicity at all

PseudoFamous

gaf1983 wrote: »

Bridget (39) has lived here for 17 years, and “is still waiting for a house”.

What does that mean? In 2006, she would have been 34, and the national rate of unemployment was between 4 and 5 per cent. So was she waiting for a house all through the Celtic Tiger too, or did she try to get a job during this period of unprecedented high employment, in order to shorten her wait for a house?

I don't know the answer to that question, the article doesn't address those points, and I also appreciate that some travellers do suffer discrimination in the labour market. However, it does seem to be a rather defeatist attitude, to be waiting for that long for a house.

IIRC, traveller women aren't allowed to have a job other than housekeeping, according to their culture, so I assume she did not have a job in 2006.

Insect Overlord

Sid_Justice wrote: »

Perhaps you don't understand the difference between ethnicity, nationality and citizenship. Perhaps you might look them up in a dictionary.

*mod hat on*

No need for the attitude, Sid. 'Tis an emotive enough topic already without making it personal too.

Kess73

Sid_Justice wrote: »

Their high prevalence is caused by inbreeding.

.

Yes it does.



irish parents who didn't mix with other irish people



yes it is



Perhaps you don't understand the difference between ethnicity, nationality and citizenship. Perhaps you might look them up in a dictionary.



so nothing to do with ethnicity at all

You say I should pick up a dictionary. Maybe you can do something similar and read up on the differences between true genetic distinctions, and genetic disorders involving recessive genes. There is a difference between the two that is recognised scientifically, as recessive genes is a term that actually does not mean the genes are recessive but that the phenotype.

So if you are claiming that Travellers are genetically distinct thanks to inbreeding, then you are saying they are different due to recessive phenotypes and not recessive genes. Technically there is a difference despite it being causually thrown about that they are genetically distinct due to inbreeding.


You also made a comment about me not undertanding the difference between ethnicity, nationality and citizenship. I understand the difference quite well thank you. Having lived in a number of countries and getting citizenship in four of them, I would hope that I know the difference by now.:) The comment I made which provoked that response from you I still stand over though, and if you disagree with it I would be interested in hearing you break it down into reasons why you disagree.

The comment I made was

If any travellers avail of the same social services available to any other Irish person, then they should be seen in the same manner as any other Irish citizen and afforded the same rights and be expected to live by the same laws.

Granted I could have made it more detail specific, but the general point that I was making was, to my mind, a pretty obvious one, and certainly a fairly neutral point in that it was not anti or pro traveller in content.

If you do think I am saying something that you deem to be anti traveller, please point it out and debate it with me, but I looked back through my posts in this thread and I see nothing that could suggest that my posts are anti traveller in any way.

flutered

a line from the story the irish traveller movement was founded in 1990 it has a network of more than 80 different organisations and individuals ?????. in other words a quango, has any one a rough estimate on how much the country is spending on these people.

bigpink

Let them rot yes if they want to live in a dump thats there own fault,basic hygiene is not hard to do
Im pretty sure they have running water and electricty in the site

Yet they can seem to afford little toy dogs

bigpink

Ok can i claim traveller status?

source

The main issue here is that they're saying that they shouldn't have to live in a dump.....None of these halting sites have been handed over to the travellers in the state they're currently in.

The halting sites are the way they are through neglect on the part of the tenants.

Sid_Justice

Kess73 wrote: »

You say I should pick up a dictionary. Maybe you can do something similar and read up on the differences between true genetic distinctions, and genetic disorders involving recessive genes. There is a difference between the two that is recognised scientifically, as recessive genes is a term that actually does not mean the genes are recessive but that the phenotype.

So if you are claiming that Travellers are genetically distinct thanks to inbreeding, then you are saying they are different due to recessive phenotypes and not recessive genes. Technically there is a difference despite it being causually thrown about that they are genetically distinct due to inbreeding.

There are social barriers to interbreeding between Travellers and non-Travellers. Travellers almost exclusively reproduce within their own numbers. Within a number of generations, this activity will make you genetically distinguishable from non-Travellers by testing for specific genetic markers. One method of demonstrating Travellers' genetic distinction is there increased prevalence of recessive traits such as Galactosemia. All Irish travellers with Galactosemia have the Q188R allele on the 9p13. Irish travellers who don't have Galactosemia, who aren't homozygous for this gene, may be heterozygous. The phenotype doesn't matter, I don't know why you made that erroneous assumption or incorrectly inferred this is what I believe. The important criteria for genetic distinction is increased prevalence of rare genes.

Are am I right in assuming you consider Irish people a separate ethnic group. Separate culture, language, shared genetic and geographical ancestry. Irish people aren't just British people who live on an island and inbred, they're not just white European. It's a separate ethnicity in my definition.

Following on from this line of reasoning, Irish Travellers have their own culture, language, shared ancestry and originally come from the same geographical region, despite, their spread across UK and America.

If any travellers avail of the same social services available to any other Irish person, then they should be seen in the same manner as any other Irish citizen and afforded the same rights and be expected to live by the same laws.

Granted I could have made it more detail specific, but the general point that I was making was, to my mind, a pretty obvious one, and certainly a fairly neutral point in that it was not anti or pro traveller in content.

I don't see any point here. We were discussing ethnicity, specifically, genetic arguments for ethnicity and then you start pontificating about social services and taxation. People born here to Nigerian parents 'can avail of the same social services, treated in the same manner as an Irish citizen and afforded the same rights to live by'. This doesn't make any difference to their ethnicity, which I wouldn't describe as Irish or White Irish as they're ethnically Nigerian (West-African) but are Irish in terms of nationality/citizenry*.

My argument is Travellers are a separate ethnic group, you questioned my reasoning, I explained my reasoning, and then you brought in this topic. That lead to me thinking you actually don't understand the argument.

Kess73

Sid_Justice wrote: »

There are social barriers to interbreeding between Travellers and non-Travellers. Travellers almost exclusively reproduce within their own numbers. Within a number of generations, this activity will make you genetically distinguishable from non-Travellers by testing for specific genetic markers. One method of demonstrating Travellers' genetic distinction is there increased prevalence of recessive traits such as Galactosemia. All Irish travellers with Galactosemia have the Q188R allele on the 9p13. Irish travellers who don't have Galactosemia, who aren't homozygous for this gene, may be heterozygous. The phenotype doesn't matter, I don't know why you made that erroneous assumption or incorrectly inferred this is what I believe. The important criteria for genetic distinction is increased prevalence of rare genes.

Are am I right in assuming you consider Irish people a separate ethnic group. Separate culture, language, shared genetic and geographical ancestry. Irish people aren't just British people who live on an island and inbred, they're not just white European. It's a separate ethnicity in my definition.

Following on from this line of reasoning, Irish Travellers have their own culture, language, shared ancestry and originally come from the same geographical region, despite, their spread across UK and America.



I don't see any point here. We were discussing ethnicity, specifically, genetic arguments for ethnicity and then you start pontificating about social services and taxation. People born here to Nigerian parents 'can avail of the same social services, treated in the same manner as an Irish citizen and afforded the same rights to live by'. This doesn't make any difference to their ethnicity, which I wouldn't describe as Irish or White Irish as they're ethnically Nigerian (West-African) but are Irish in terms of nationality/citizenry*.

My argument is Travellers are a separate ethnic group, you questioned my reasoning, I explained my reasoning, and then you brought in this topic. That lead to me thinking you actually don't understand the argument.

The thread is not just about ethnicity, and I was not speaking about ethnicity when I made my point. You are the one who keeps bringing ethnicity into it.

As for travellers being a seperate ethnic group, well I respect your opinion in that you see them as one, but I do not see them as one and as such am not trying to discuss them as being one.

You seem to be the only person who is claiming the discussion in the thread is just about ethnicity. It smacks of a person who wants to drag a conversation in one direction only and to strawman as much as possible.

Oh by the way the phenotype does matter when it comes to inbreeding, but I am sure you can find that info in the same place that you took your other info from.


I have posted in this thread based on the article in the first post, and given my own opinion on travellers in general as well as travellers of one surname. You can claim that they are an ethnic group if you like, I see them as no such thing and find the claim to be laughable whenever I hear it. But I guess the claims of being a seperate ethnic group has been shown to be a handy way for some sections of the travelluing community to avoid accepting responsibity for certain social issues and criminal issues, and get trotted out time and time again to suit arguements.

I think I have been pretty clear in this thread in how I generally see travellers, and tend only to refer to them as travellers in threads like this because in day to day life I simply see them as people and not some tag or title, and certainly not a ethnic group.


As for you assuming I see the Irish as a totally seperate enthnic group for the reasons you gave/assumed, well I don't see the Irish as a totally seperate ethnic group but rather as one that shares many of it's ethnic traits with a number of other groups, and as such is more of a sub group than a truly individual group.

Genetically I would not certainly not have thought of the British in terms of the Irish and ethnicity. My mind would have gone to the Basque Country.

In terms of shared language and to a large degree culture the British comparison would be more valid alright imho as trying to use the Irish language at this point as some kind of proof of a seperate language that helps define a seperate ethnicity is a weak arguement at best given that the vast majority of Irish have little to no real fluency in the language and it does not even rank in the top three languages on the island in terms of how frequently it is spoken.

Sid_Justice

bigpink wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2011/1128/1224308217459.html
Well Travellers wanted to be treated equal but then they want to be an seperate ethic race:rolleyes:

bobbysands81 wrote: »

'Travellers' have as much a claim to ethnic minority status as 'Mayo Hurlers' have.

bobbysands81 wrote: »

Somebody called Travellers an ethnic minority, they're not.* I'm pointing out that Mayo Hurlers have as much right to call themselves an ethnic minority as Travellers do.

*This is not a slur on Travellers, many travellers themselves don't consider themselves an ethnic minority.

For the record (and clarity) I'm using the Collins English Dictionary definition of ethnic minority:

ethnic minority

an immigrant or racial group regarded by those claiming to speak for the cultural majority as distinct and unassimilated

Sid_Justice wrote: »

Travellers are genetically distinct with their own culture and language. I don't see any reason why they shouldn't get ethnically distinct status.

kinseydub wrote: »

Could you elaborate how travellers are genetically distinctt ?

Kess73 wrote: »

It does not make them genetically distinct

Kess73 wrote: »

genetic distinctions,

You seem to be the only person who is claiming the discussion in the thread is just about ethnicity.

yeah , obviously I am the only one talking about the actual topic of the thread...:rolleyes::rolleyes:

You quote my posts and then tell me what I'm talking about...:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Brennans Row

bigpink wrote: »

. . . . . . Imo let them rot there, . . . . .

bigpink wrote: »

Let them rot yes . . . . . .

That’s the second time you have incited that remark!

As an adult you should bear in mind that you are talking about primary school children here.

Their input was a substantial part of that article.

Sid_Justice wrote: »

yeah , obviously I am the only one talking about the actual topic of the thread...

Actually you are not.

The thread is about “The view from inside: a day on the halting site” and to be honest my alarm bells ring every time, when I read words like DNA, genetics, inbreeding in a racial context, it sounds more like national-socialist jargon.

Kess73

Sid_Justice wrote: »

yeah , obviously I am the only one talking about the actual topic of the thread...:rolleyes::rolleyes:

You quote my posts and then tell me what I'm talking about...:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

I have tried to be polite with you, but you obviously have a bee in your bonnet about something.

I quoted your posts in order to reply to you, but if you want to see something else in it that is not there, then so be it. I cannot do anymore than to be polite to you, but if you want to reply like a child over and over, then I won't bother replying a guy who cannot even figure out that what he is talking about is actually different to both the thread title and the article that prompted the OP to start the thread.

So I guess you are the one who made an "erroneous assumption" as to what the thread topic was.:)

Benny Lava

Is that Willie Casey's family?

Sid_Justice

Kess73 wrote: »

I have tried to be polite with you, but you obviously have a bee in your bonnet about something.

I quoted your posts in order to reply to you, but if you want to see something else in it that is not there, then so be it. I cannot do anymore than to be polite to you, but if you want to reply like a child over and over, then I won't bother replying a guy who cannot even figure out that what he is talking about is actually different to both the thread title and the article that prompted the OP to start the thread.

So I guess you are the one who made an "erroneous assumption" as to what the thread topic was.:)

The thread is about what ever is written in the first post. The first post references traveller ethnicity. I wrote about traveller ethnicity, a poster queried my opinion, you contradicted me based on a poor understanding of genetics and then you call me childish. You don't need to be polite you just need to argue the point and not attack the poster. You posted incorrect things and I tried to correct them. I don't see what your childish acquisition is about, I'm only correcting you cause you're wrong.

I didn't make an erroneous assumption, you can trace the line of my discussion from the first post through at least 10 posts to this point. You can hardly accuse me of being off-topic when I'm discussing the central theme of the thread. You're not a moderator here, I suggest you keep your moderating to your own forum.

Mc Love

Wasnt that halting site refurbished lately (as in the last year or so?)

Kess73

Mc Love wrote: »

Wasnt that halting site refurbished lately (as in the last year or so?)

It was done up possibly two years ago. Then again in such an enclosed area it would only take one or two dominant familiy units to be destructive/messy to make the place a dump for the rest of the people living there.

skyguy19

sure wasnt young Casey (with the bowl haircut) collecting waste in the white pick up van and dumping it there, wsnt there a photo of the waste from the hotel in the Limerick leader a few yeas ago, theres about 6 horses there too I thought they were illegal.

CiaranMT

Did you learn nothing from the UL forum, Sid?

Insect Overlord

Mod Note: Lads, I've already posted one warning about not making this debate personal. I don't want to have to post a third one.

GavMan

Sid_Justice wrote: »

Their high prevalence is caused by inbreeding.

.

Yes it does.



irish parents who didn't mix with other irish people



yes it is



Perhaps you don't understand the difference between ethnicity, nationality and citizenship. Perhaps you might look them up in a dictionary.



so nothing to do with ethnicity at all

So by this logic, anyone who is born from an inbred relationship is a whole new ethnicity.

So if 2 asians inbreed, then the child is a different ethnicity to the parents??

Suspect logic me thinks

Sid_Justice

No if a population of asians were inbreeding for generations they could be considered gentically distinct. If they adapted a new culture, language and way of life, they could be considered ethnically distinct. suspect reading me thinks.

A Country Voice

PseudoFamous wrote: »

IIRC, traveller women aren't allowed to have a job other than housekeeping, according to their culture, so I assume she did not have a job in 2006.

Thats one hell of an excuse for not gettin off your ar*e and getting a job when the country had thousands of people coming here from other countries at the time to work, and there were jobs to be had everywhere.
My attitude is this.
If I decided tomorrow that I wanted to live on somone elses land in a caravan and pulled in I wouldnt be there long because the cops would have me shifted fairly quickly and rightly so.
Why do we have to pay for people to have water and electricity at sites that they obviously don't give a shi*e about. Let them go on the housing list and get a job and rent a flat like everyone else until they can afford a deposit and can get a mortgage and buy a house like everyone else.
If they don't want to live in a house or flat, let them buy their own land, and subject to planning permission, develop the site in whatever way they want at their own expense.
I'm fed up of paying for these so-called minorities.
Maybe I'll start a new religion/culture and part of it will be that it will be against my religion/culture to pay road tax?:D
ACV

bobbysands81

flutered wrote: »

a line from the story the irish traveller movement was founded in 1990 it has a network of more than 80 different organisations and individuals ?????. in other words a quango, has any one a rough estimate on how much the country is spending on these people.

This is a question that really needs to be asked... and answered.

Ridiculous money is spent on Trevellers on housing alone, Irish society cannot afford it anymore.

What % of Travellers are employed? Probably a very small amount and prejudice would be a massive reason why folk won't take them on.

What % of Travellers file annual tax returns? Close to 0% I'd say.

Travellers need to start contributing to society because at the moment they don't.

bobbysands81

bigpink wrote: »

Ok can i claim traveller status?

Amazingly yes you can and I can't believe that no "settled" person has yet in order to get preferential treatment.

Cossax

CiaranMT wrote: »

Did you learn nothing from the UL forum, Sid?

Classy stuff.

Sid_Justice wrote: »

No if a population of asians were inbreeding for generations they could be considered gentically distinct. If they adapted a new culture, language and way of life, they could be considered ethnically distinct. suspect reading me thinks.

Bingo. Travellers qualify as an ethnic minority by any definition of the phrase.

celticcrash

Bingo. Travellers qualify as an ethnic minority by any definition of the phrase.

Can you claim be be Irish and than claim to be an ethnic minority in Ireland?
Sounds a bit Irish to me.

Insect Overlord

celticcrash wrote: »

Bingo. Travellers qualify as an ethnic minority by any definition of the phrase.

Can you claim be be Irish and than claim to be an ethnic minority in Ireland?
Sounds a bit Irish to me.

More epic logic failure.

You can be second generation Chinese, Indian, African, Polish or Australian and still be in a minority in Ireland. Like American Indians, Pakistanis in Britain or Algerians in France, they belong to both worlds and both cultures.

byhookorbycrook

I don't want to live in an estate either. I also want a house with an acre for my dogs and horse. Sadly, I can't afford it,so that's that.

I don't expect someone else to pay for me to have this. Horses are part of my culture, I come from North Cork, where steeplechasing began and my dad was at school with Vincent O'Brien, so ye all need to pay more tax so I can have my "culture".;););)