A/49/677 English Page 17 77. In this regard, the Irish Government has disclosed that this community constitutes the major cultural minority against which discrimination exists in Ireland. The travelling community is characterized by a long history in Ireland, shared cultural traditions, distinctive patterns of economic activity and a distinctive travellers’ language. 78. There were 3,671 traveller families officially recorded in 1991, amounting to perhaps 25,000 persons. Of those, 1,473 families were accommodated in local authority standard housing, 233 families in local authority group housing, 36 families in local authority chalet sites, and 797 families in local authority services halting sites, making a total of 2,539 families in public accommodation. Thus, 1,132 families were living on the roadside, often in appalling conditions, despite statutory provisions for the assessment of their accommodation needs by housing authorities contained in the Housing Act, 1988 (sect. 9). 79. Travellers have also expressed the view that, where accommodation and services are provided, these do not always adequately reflect their needs. They also have objected to a number of legal and administrative requirements, such as electoral registration, which are predicated on the concept of a permanent address. 80. Travellers have experienced widespread discrimination in Ireland. This discrimination manifests itself in terms of denial of access to premises, goods, facilities and services in many instances, such as refusal of entry to particular restaurants or public houses, and difficulties in having children enrolled in schools, as well as in discriminatory attitudes towards travellers. Occasionally incidents of physical violence against travellers are reported. 81. The Government’s response to the needs of, and discrimination against, the travelling community has evolved following the reports of the Commission on Itineracy in 1963 and the Review Body on Travelling People in 1983. In 1993, the Minister for Equality and Law Reform established the Task Force on the Travelling Community. 36/ 82. The Czech Government, for its part, believes that racial discrimination could be considered in relation to the Romany population; there have been certain manifestations of the tendency to discriminate against the Romanies, for example, in the labour market. It must be pointed out, however, that in individual cases it is very difficult to distinguish between discrimination against the Romanies and justified reservations concerning their willingness to acquire and keep jobs, their discipline at work and qualifications. 83. In 1993 and 1994, the Council for Nationalities of the Government of the Czech Republic did not consider any concrete cases of discrimination against members of national minorities. However, manifestations of interethnic conflicts and racial aggression advocated by extremist groups of young people and targeted, especially against the Romanies, represent a more serious problem. 84. Moreover, the immigration and naturalization legislation adopted by the Czech Republic after Czechoslovakia was divided contains some provisions which discriminate against the Roma. After the separation of Czechoslovakia, all /...