Sir, – Colm O’Gorman (February 11th) argues that Travellers should be designated as an ethnic group in the Republic of Ireland because north of the Border they have been so designated.
Could Mr O’Gorman point to any tangible benefits that this designation has brought the Northern Irish Travelling community, or Northern Irish society as a whole?
Has it helped to counteract the problems he mentions of discrimination, unemployment and poverty?
I think we should be very cautious about designating groups as distinct ethnic minorities. Is there a risk that by designating different groups with different ethnicities, the state would risk creating potential causes of conflict within the population?
Personally, I would rather the state didn’t focus on ethnic, national or racial differences but rather instead enforce political and legal equality of all individuals. – Yours, etc,