Government Blocks First Traveller Senator From Leading Community Committee
The Government has defended its decision not to reconvene the Oireachtas committee on Traveller issues with Independent Senator Eileen Flynn as chair. Senator Flynn, who made history as the first Traveller elected to the Seanad, expressed disappointment at the decision. "Lived experience brings an invaluable perspective that cannot be replicated through well-intentioned advocacy," she stated last Thursday. She further emphasized that "the potential absence of a Traveller voice chairing, or even sitting on this committee constitutes a fundamental failure of representative democracy." In response, the Government explained that all 28 Oireachtas committees were distributed through the d'Hondt selection process last Wednesday at the Committee on Standing Orders and Dรกil reform, with no objections raised by any party or grouping. According to the Government, making an exception for one committee would have resulted in the Opposition losing a committee chair, as […]