BIPA Committee at Stormont for Evidence on Travellers and the Roma Population

On Monday 3 March 2014 the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA) meets in the Northern Ireland Assembly to take evidence on the provision of services to Roma and travellers across Britain and Ireland and the relationship between Roma and travellers and other local communities. The Committee visited Dublin to take evidence in January and will visit England later this year.

The inquiry aims to share good practice across the jurisdictions involved,  looking at relations between local authorities, Governments, local community and travellers and the Roma population.

 The Committee is considering:

• Access to health and education services for travellers and the Roma;
• Provision of housing, and provision of temporary and permanent sites; and
• Interactions between other local communities and Roma and travellers

 Media and the public are welcome to attend any and all of the evidence.

 In Room 29, Northern Ireland Assembly, the Committee will take evidence from local community groups, Government and Assembly departments and agencies :

9.00am                                 Community perspective:

• South Belfast Round Table (Denise Wright)
• Lower Ormeau Residents Action Group (Ann Marie White, Project coordinator Creating Cohesive Community)
• Police Service of Northern Ireland (Maura Muldoon, Head of Policing with the Community Branch)

9.45am 

• An Munia Tober (Ms Pauline McCarry Project Health Manager with Traveller community )
• Bryson Intercultural (Ms Sorina Toma Roma Health Liaison Officer)
• Mediation NI (Denis Long, Roma Community Development Coordinator)
• Romanian Roma Community Assoc of NI (Nicolae Nicola, Chair)

10.45am                              

• NI Housing Executive (Connor Smith, Travellers Project Team and Mary McDonnell, Principal Officer)
• Department for Social Development (Stephen Martin, Deputy Director, Jason McAnulty)

11.30am 

• Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Traveller Health Strategy Board  (Stephen Long, Community Development Officer and Bryan Nelson, Senior Manager Health Improvement)
• Department of Health (Heather Stevens, Director of Service Delivery and Stephen Galway, Head of Primary Care Medical Services)

12.15pm: 

• Barnardo's Tuar Ceatha (Joan McGovern, Pamela Kirk)
• Department of Education (Julie Humphries)
• Southern Education and Library Board (Kieran Shields)
• Northern Ireland Equality Commission (Michael Wardlow, Commissioner and Paul Noonan, Senior Policy Officer) 

In the afternoon the Committee will visit Monagh Road  in West Belfast, and other traveller sites. Please contact Jessica on 07917 488 489 for more information and possible photo and interview opportunities.

 
Notes:

For more information or bids please contact Jessica bridgespalmerj@parliamnet.uk  / (+44) 7917 488 489

 

Information about the Membership of BIPA Committee D can be found here.

BIPA was established mission is to promote co-operation between political representatives in Britain and Ireland for the benefit of the people they represent. It aims  to build on the close relationships established in recent years between politicians throughout Britain and Ireland.

BIPA’s membership includes representatives from the UK Parliament, the Houses of the Oireachtas, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly, the High Court of Tynwald (Isle of Man) and the States of Guernsey and Jersey.

The Assembly is Co-Chaired by Laurence Robertson MP from the Houses of Parliament, and Joe McHugh TD from the Houses of the Oireachtas.