Pontins apologises to Irish Travellers over discrimination | EUROtoday

Pontins has apologised on to Irish Travellers saying its earlier refusal to permit company to remain as a result of it suspected they have been from the neighborhood was “clearly wrong”.

The apology is the primary stage within the vacation park firm’s one-year motion plan launched to deal with discrimination towards Irish Travellers.

The plan was developed with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), after the watchdog discovered Pontins had engaged in illegal acts discriminating towards Irish Travellers.

Earlier this 12 months the EHRC printed an investigation into Pontins having unearthed “company systems and practices” designed to bar Irish Travellers from its vacation parks between 2013 and 2018.

On Monday, EHRC chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner mentioned: “Race and ethnicity should never be a barrier to going on holiday.

“Pontins has as we speak apologised to the Irish Traveller neighborhood it discriminated towards and has begun work to introduce strict safeguards and assure a zero-tolerance strategy to discrimination.”

The EHRC investigation found 11 unlawful acts which discriminated against Irish Travellers, including refusing or cancelling bookings made by people with Irish accents or surnames.

The commission also found Pontins had created a list of common Irish surnames labelled as “undesirable company”.

Some of the names that appeared on the list of undesirable guests – an image of which the EHRC included in its report – were Boyle, Keefe, Gallagher, O’Donnell, McGuiness, Murphy, and O’Reilly.

As well as this list, the watchdog found there was a “banned checklist” containing the names of people thought to be Irish Travellers, as well as their associates.

The EHRC said Pontins also brought in rules requiring guests to appear on the electoral register, which the commission said was discriminatory against Gypsies and Travellers, as they were less likely to be on it.

The action plan, the implementation of which will be monitored by the watchdog, will introduce a “zero-tolerance strategy to discrimination”.

The requirement to be on the electoral roll has been dropped and a commitment made not to reintroduce it.

Booking policies will also be monitored, a whistleblower plan introduced, and there will be engagement with Traveller communities.

A spokesperson for Pontins said the company would like to “reiterate our apologies relating to the intense points” raised by the ECHR.

“We deeply remorse any misery precipitated, notably to members of the traveller and gypsy communities who’ve been immediately affected,” the company added.

The statement said the firm was “absolutely dedicated to making sure ongoing compliance with the Equality Act 2010, implementing a zero-tolerance strategy to discrimination of all types and to fostering an inclusive and welcoming setting for all of our company”.

Pontins has beforehand mentioned the decision centre the place the incidents occurred had now closed.