Traveller Children Denied an Education

[C. Flower]

The very first of the "austerity" cuts made by Fianna Fail was cuts in the allowance for books for Traveller children.

Specialist support teachers for Traveller children have also been cut.

Now the High Court has confirmed that schools can legally discriminate in favour of settled local people, even though this disadvantages Traveller children.

Education and literacy is a big leap for Traveller children to take and the livelihoods of their community have traditionally not required them.

They endure bullying and discrimination by the settled community when they try to join the school system.

Now, disadvantage is backed by the Courts.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/m...cy-538456.html

[d.vader]

Well, I suppose it fits in with the logic of the state subsidising fee-charging schools - this has been going on for years and is an issue which by and large has been kept carefully below the radar. Wasn't Ho Chi Quinn educated in one of them?
On a slightly different tack, I'm just reading a book on the history of (the old) Cork Prison at the moment and a mid-nineteenth century report gave the following figures for the prison population in one day [and I quote]: debtors 8; untried 7; tried 23;vagrants 3;various 110. This was made up of 65 men and 86 women. The heading "various" includes police offences, drunkenness, larceny, hooliganism and disorderly behaviour. [end quote]
An 1856 report relating to the City Gaol stated that 76 boys were whipped that year.
The point here is that the state (or society?) punishes and has always punished the poor and the powerless. I seem to remember reading somewhere that a huge porportion of the modern day Irish prison population has serious literacy problems. Anyone starting to join the dots here?
A final point - why are we surprised that the state was forced to assume the debts of the banks and the speculators? Logically, the effects were bound to be passed to the powerless.

[disability student]

I know some parents of deaf kids took to the high courts over in odds with Dept of Education policy on deaf education. Policy on deaf education were controversial and discriminatory. Mind you, in the past committe was run by state appointed people- Prof Conroy, Gleeson the barrister et al . That is gone now replaced with insider civil servant and one outsider.

Traveller in Galway told me that we were in the same boat when it comes to discrimination and closed minds etc.

[Baron von Biffo]

We had a thread here on the circuit court leg of the Stokes case.

http://www.politicalworld.org/showthread.php?t=8962

If I might be forgiven for quoting myself, I think it's worth restating what I said in that thread - The boy involved did not suffer unfavourable treatment because he was a traveller. The criteria treat traveller children the same as Polish children or Offaly Children or, to use the old fashioned term, bastards.

The High Court agreed with that today if DriveTime reporting is to be believed.

[Baron von Biffo]

SixOne now.

[Baron von Biffo]

The spokesman from the traveller movement is completely ignoring the fact that this policy affects other people equally with travellers.

[C. Flower]

The spokesman from the traveller movement is completely ignoring the fact that this policy affects other people equally with travellers.

True. It also affects asylum seekers and anyone "outside the loop."

Great.

[jpc]

True. It also affects asylum seekers and anyone "outside the loop."

Great.

And the middle class even,
40 kids were turned down.
What card can they play?

[C. Flower]

And the middle class even,
40 kids were turned down.
What card can they play?

The first Judge agreed it was discriminatory. To draw all places by lottery would not be discriminatory.

[Baron von Biffo]

The first Judge agreed it was discriminatory. To draw all places by lottery would not be discriminatory.

And what would you say to the mother who's oldest son was already a pupil but who's second kid had to travel 20 miles to another school?

Tough sh!t love, luck of the draw?

[Kid Ryder]

And the middle class even,
40 kids were turned down.
What card can they play?

They can do what they always do - buy themselves some relief. Making sure that the educations of the poor are stillborn is a useful way to cut down competition with their kids on the college points system. And putting up fees just adds to it. The well-off will grumble, but will still pay out the money. Working-class kids will just write off their own chances of affording third level education. 'Tis an ill wind that blows nobody good.

[Baron von Biffo]

True. It also affects asylum seekers and anyone "outside the loop."

Great.

What loop?

There's no loop or circle or secret handshake or any other conspiracy theory stuff. It's a transparent system.

If the family had moved from Dublin or Athlone he would have been in the same position. Likewise if his birth cert had a blank over 'Father's name'.

[Baron von Biffo]

Oh dear, he wants 'positive' discrimination.

[Andrew49]

So it's OK to discriminate against one set of children as long as the discrimination also applies to other sets of children.

These children won't be exposed to the ethos of the psychotic, and sexually dysfunctional Christian Brothers, and its high time all children in the State were protected from them.

[C. Flower]

So it's OK to discriminate against one set of children as long as the discrimination also applies to other sets of children.

These children won't be exposed to the ethos of the psychotic, and sexually dysfunctional Christian Brothers, and its high time all children in the State were protected from them.

There is that. But I wonder what happened to them ? Children turned away from the Limerick Second Level system were mainly dead when checked up on a few years later. Life without literacy now is no joke. "All the children..cherished equally"