In last Wednesday’s Belfast Telegraph (Write Back, October 1) Malachy McAnespie claimed that the Equality Commission was “ignorant of a European ruling” which, he stated “essentially makes it illegal to pursue separate education”.

There is no foundation for this. The commission is fully aware of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights dealing with discriminatory treatment of Roma children.

There is no statutory provision for separate education for Traveller children in Northern Ireland. Indeed, the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 makes it unlawful for a school in Northern Ireland to refuse to enroll a child on the grounds of their racial origin, which includes membership of the Irish Traveller community.

The Equality Commission will advise any person who believes that they or their child has faced unlawful discrimination in this regard.

Ciaran Bradley

Equality Commission for Northern Ireland