Members of the travelling community with jobs?

Post the Celtic Tiger economic exclusion amongst Travellers persists and contrasts
starkly with other sectors of Irish society. The 2002 census highlighted that 73% of
Traveller men are unemployed in comparison to a national male figure of 9%; while
63% of Traveller women are unemployed in comparison to a national figure of 8%.
The range of employment that Travellers are engaged in fits into the ‘first in, first out’
category so that even for Travellers who have secured employment very few are in
sustainable /career building type jobs.
The only other group whose unemployment rates are comparable to the Traveller
community are disabled people. Targets set within the National Anti-Poverty Strategy
to reduce long-term unemployment amongst vulnerable groups down to the national
average will not be met by 2007 for Travellers.
Pavee Point welcomes the Special Initiative for Travellers which is being organised
through FÁS. The focus of SIT is the Traveller economy and other employment
initiatives for Travellers within four pilot areas (Dublin, Galway, Clare and Cork) and
up to Є0.5m should be spent by the end of this year. However, a lack of
understanding of cultural diversity and the impact of inequality on a community may
hamper the potential of this development.
There are particular issues that face Traveller women in the labour market and that
greatly restrict their progression options. For example, the income an adult dependent
can earn is calculated on the basis of a daily rate worked out on the basis of a 7 day
week. So any adult who is the dependent adult in social welfare terms can only work a
few hours a day (or else a lot less than the minimum wage hourly rate) if they do not
wish to interfere with the family’s overall income. This has particular implications for
women including Traveller women. It can also impact on Traveller women’s ability to
access a greater variety of training as the allowable income does not always keep pace
with the FÁS training allowance and FÁS is the main provider / funder of Traveller
women’s training opportunities.

tayto lover wrote: »

The Traveller workshops (education centres) are being closed all around the country to save money. This will be a big blow to these adults who were seeking education in the hope of getting proper work. It was also an outlet and a social venue for traveller women who otherwise would rarely leave their homes or halting sites. A mistake i think.

Joesh82 wrote: »

Definately, but hopefully what has been done so far will show them the importance of integration. Travellers are very protective about their way of life but they must realise that there are huge flaws with it. There isnt big funds for these projects anymore so a lot of the changes needed are going to have to come from travellers themselves and especially their approach to education.

rossc007 wrote: »

Surely they are entitled to go to national school like everyone else?

Cat Melodeon wrote: »

Integration should be a two-way street. There are huge flaws in many people's ways of life, what you might consider to be normal many might see as unattainable/weird/downright wrong. Who decides what is normal? Integration has to involve the majority making some concessions and accommodations as well, and welcoming those aspects of the minority group (be they Travellers or immigrants or whatever) that can enrichen society. People who claim Traveller culture has nothing to offer and that THEY must integrate into US mustn't have any real contact with Travellers.

flutterflye wrote: »

Obviously I mean- how do you tell if someone is a traveler?

Anyone could be a traveler, and you might never know unless it came up in conversation.