Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will speak briefly on amendment No. 121, which seeks to insert protection for cultural infrastructure and facilities. These are the spaces where living culture exists. As a member of the Traveller community, I have seen my culture regularly dismissed and even criminalised by wider society. Earlier I touched on the damaging impact of the report of the commission on itinerants in 1963, which is still felt by the Traveller community after more than 60 years. The report framed Traveller culture and the Traveller way of life as a problem rather than a culture to be embraced and celebrated in Irish society. We can still see the impact of the report through policies, legislation and people's attitude towards the Traveller community. The difference of cultures in all of our communities should be enhanced. We should celebrate differences in Irish society instead of stating we are all the same and that everybody should be treated the same as everybody else. We are not all the same. As individuals we all have different needs and we are all different. We should be able to celebrate this on a wider level. In the Planning and Development Bill, no culture or people with cultures should be left behind.