International Reporting
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From: Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
- Published on: 14 January 2025
- Last updated on: 13 March 2025
Council of Europe
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM)
As part of its work with International Bodies to progress Traveller and Roma inclusion, Ireland periodically reports under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM), ratified in May 1999. The Convention is a multilateral treaty of the Council of Europe, devoted to the protection of persons belonging to national minorities. Under the FCNM, Ireland submits periodic reports describing the measures implemented over the previous five years, with reference to the Council of Europe’s recommendations, and covering matters pertaining to the Traveller and Roma communities.
Ireland submitted its Fifth State Report to the Council of Europe on 12 July 2023. This report was prepared by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, in consultation with all other relevant Departments. Traveller and Roma representative organisations, and interested parties, were invited to submit their observations in writing, in response to the draft report. The comments and feedback received were taken into account when compiling the final draft, and the full content of the submissions is included as an Appendix to the State Report, which is available here and below.
As part of the reporting cycle, a delegation of the FCNM Advisory Committee conducted a monitoring visit to Ireland from 18 to 22 September 2023. Following this visit, the FCNM Advisory Committee developed and adopted its Fifth Opinion on Ireland. The Fifth Opinion contained a series of recommendations addressed to Ireland which were directed towards addressing Traveller and Roma issues in areas such as accommodation, employment, health, and education. To facilitate the preparation of Ireland’s response, comments and observations were received from the relevant Government Departments. Ireland’s response to the Fifth Opinion was considered by the Government at its meeting of 18 February 2025 and subsequently forwarded to the Council of Europe. Both the Fifth Opinion and Ireland’s response were published by the Council of Europe on 27 February 2025 and are available here and below.
Commissioner for Human Rights
The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial non-judicial institution established in 1999 by the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe to promote awareness of, and respect for, human rights in the Council's 46 member states. The activities of Commissioner focus on three major, closely related areas:
• country visits and dialogue with national authorities and civil society;
• thematic studies and advice on systematic human rights work; and,
• awareness-raising activities.
The Commissioner carries out visits to all Member States to monitor and evaluate the human rights situation. Following such visits, a report or a letter may be addressed to the authorities of the country concerned containing an assessment of the human rights situation and recommendations on how to overcome shortcomings in law and practice.
For the purpose of drafting a Memorandum on the human rights of Travellers and Roma in Ireland, the Commissioner for Human Rights visited Ireland from the 7 to 11 October 2024. The visit was part of a series of country visits taking place in the context of the Commissioner’s priority work on the human rights of Roma and Travellers across the Council of Europe Member States. During his visit, the Commissioner visited Traveller halting sites in the Dublin area and in Limerick, and had discussions with Traveller and Roma representatives and activists, women’s groups and young Travellers and Roma. In Limerick, he met with representatives from the European Centre for the Study of Hate at the University of Limerick and the Irish Travellers Access to Justice team. On Traveller Mental Health Day, 8 October, the Commissioner attended a ceremony dedicated to the memory of Travellers who died by suicide, organised by the Limerick Traveller Network.
The Irish State received the Commissioner’s Memorandum on 3 February 2025, and was invited to submit comments on its content and recommendations. To facilitate the preparation of Ireland’s response, comments and observations were received from the relevant Government Departments. Ireland’s response to the Commissioner’s Memorandum was considered by the Government at its meeting of 18 February 2025 and subsequently forwarded to the Council of Europe. The Commissioner’s Memorandum and the Comments of the Government of Ireland were published together on 25 February 2025. These can be found both here and below.
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)
The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) is a unique human rights expert body that monitors action against racism, discrimination (on grounds of race, ethnic or national background, skin colour, citizenship, religion, language, sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics), and intolerance in Europe.
In its country monitoring work, ECRI analyses the situation closely in each of the member states and makes recommendations for dealing with any problems of racism and intolerance identified there.
A delegation of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) visited Ireland from 4 to 8 November 2024, in preparation of their sixth report on Ireland. During the visit, the ECRI delegation gathered information on effective equality and access to rights, hate speech and hate-motivated violence, integration, and inclusion.
More information on the ECRI country monitoring in Ireland can be accessed here.
United Nations
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
The ICCPR is an international human rights treaty that aims to protect civil and political rights. The implementation of the Convention is monitored by the Committee on Civil and Political Rights, a body of 18 independent experts. Ireland ratified the Convention in 1989. Ireland submitted its fifth periodic report under ICCPR in September 2019.
Ireland’s 5th Periodic Report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
ICESCR is an international human rights treaty that aims to protect economic, social and cultural rights. The implementation of the Convention is monitored by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a body of 18 independent experts. Ireland ratified the Convention in 1989. Ireland submitted its fourth national report on the implementation of ICESCR in February 2021.
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1992, recognising that children in Ireland have specific rights, and the Irish State’s responsibility to make those rights a reality.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
ICESCR is an international human rights treaty that aims to protect economic, social and cultural rights. The implementation of the Convention is monitored by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a body of 18 independent experts. Ireland ratified the Convention in 1989. Ireland submitted its fourth national report on the implementation of ICESCR in February 2021.
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1992, recognising that children in Ireland have specific rights, and the Irish State’s responsibility to make those rights a reality.
European Commission
European Platform for Roma Inclusion (EPRI)
The European Platform for Roma Inclusion (EPRI) brings together national governments, the EU, international organisations and Roma civil society. It aims to stimulate cooperation and an exchange of experience on successful Roma inclusion.
Ireland attended the 17th European Platform for Roma Inclusion, which took place in Brussels on 1 October 2024.
More information on the EPRI is available here.
National Roma strategic frameworks: European Commission assessment and implementation reports.
Under the EU Roma Strategic Framework for equality, inclusion and participation, the European Commission publishes implementation reports every two years, based on reporting from Member States and civil society, as well as surveys from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. It also carries out an in-depth mid-term evaluation, as well as an ex-post evaluation.
As part of its commitment to combatting discrimination against Traveller and Roma people and promoting their social and economic inclusion, Ireland periodically reports on the implementation of its national Roma strategic frameworks – the National Traveler and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS) – in light of the EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation and the Council Recommendation on Roma equality, inclusion and participation.
In September 2024, the Commission adopted a report on the implementation of the national Roma strategic frameworks.