Category: News

On December 14th in 1918, Irishwomen got the chance to cast their hard won right to vote for the first time. Two women, Countess Constance Markievicz In St Patrick’s ward in Dublin, and Winifred Carney in East Belfast, would also stand for election. Other political women, who had fought long & hard for the vote […]

In the run up to Human Rights Day 2018 our workers have been busy.  Gabi Muntean,  Roma Community Worker and Tessa Collins, Traveller Community Worker were both speaking up for equality for Traveller and Roma this week. “I will tell you a short story about a Roma family that came to Ireland in 2007…”  Read […]

16 Days of Action Today marks the beginning of the 16 Days of Action Opposing Violence Against Women – a time to come together and work to prevent and end violence against women around the world. The campaign runs from the 25th of November, the International Day of Elimination of Violence against Women, to the […]

Photo: (L to R) Patrick Reilly, Pavee Point, Nuala Kelly, Pavee Point, Sheila Nunan, ICTU, Des Geraghty, Ethel Buckley SIPTU and Michael Halpenny Front Row (L to R) Michael Farrell, Fr Peter McVerry, Lucky Khambule, Bernadette McAliskey. ‘We Shall Overcome Civil Rights – the Struggle Continues’ was a seminar held in Liberty Hall on the 10th […]

Pavee Point helped celebrate International Men’s Day at The Men’s Development Network event to highlight the need to end men’s violence against women and girls and to promote gender equality. The event was attended by Fergal Fox, general manager of the Health Service Executive, Orla O ‘Connor CEO of National Women’s Council of Ireland and […]

Missie Collins was one of the panelists at the launch of ‘Out of Silence’ a report by the National Women’s Council of Ireland on women’s mental health.  The report acknowledges the role discrimination and racism has to play in contributing to poor mental health for women along with other factors. Dr Clodagh Dowling delivered the […]

Pavee Point was delighted to attend the first National Drug Forum on Monday which was held in the Aviva stadium and hosted by the Department of Health and the Heath Research Board.   Pavee Point attended two workshops, one on ‘Dual Diagnosis:using partnership and peer support as resources in treatment’. Clondalkin Drug and Alcohol Task […]

Traveller PHC workers attended a NWCI seminar ‘No Feminist Budget 2019’ on 17th October on the impact of Budget 19 on women and the importance of measuring this. We supported the NWCI call for equality budgeting and for an equality statement was called for in the next budget. “When the budget is getting done we’re […]

This week we are sending out postcards to politicians and decision makers to seek support to implement the forthcoming Traveller Health Action Plan. We want politicians and policy makers to put pressure on Ministers to take make this Plan work.  We know what needs to be done.  We know how it can be done.  What […]

Photos: Annie and Tommy McDonagh, members of the Travelling community from Galway’s east side, cast their votes. Photograph: Joe O’Shaughnessy, The Irish Times Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre congratulates Michael D. Higgins on his resounding re-election as President of Ireland. Irish Travellers know that President Higgins will continue to represent everyone in Ireland, including […]

Pavee Point’s Primary Health Care Project was delighted to take part in this year’s commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the unveiling of the Human Rights and Poverty Stone in Dublin’s city centre. A number of Traveller women spoke at the event where they […]

Pavee Point welcomes today’s publication of the Final Report of the Joint Committee on the Future of Mental Health Care. The report acknowledges that poverty, poor housing and socio economic factors as well as prejudice and discrimination contribute to a mental health crisis in the Traveller community that sees suicide account for 11% of all […]

A partnership of Traveller organisations and mainstream LGBTQI support services joined together today to launch resources for LGBTQI Travellers and Roma.  Posters and videos were launched that can be used to celebrate Traveller and Roma LGBTQI identity. “If we as Traveller organisations are serious about working to achieve equality and the protection of the human […]

Suicide and mental health is at a crisis point for Travellers.  As our mental health worker and Traveller man Pa Reilly says young Travellers are growing up seeing and hearing about suicide and mental health issues on a daily basis. Traveller suicide is nearly 6 times higher than the settled population and accounts for 11% […]

A Traveller Voice at National Level Traveller mental health is in crisis.  We read more and more reports of Traveller families devastated by suicide.  Figures from 2010 show that  suicide among Travellers is 6 times greater than in the settled population.  We know that mental health is impacted by living conditions, low educational outcomes and […]

Week one of a new 6-week programme – Pavee Gloke Health – has taken place. The aims of the programme are: Improve the physical, mental, social and spiritual health of Traveller men Explore issues that impact on Traveller men and the wider Traveller community Workshops took place and this work is combined with outdoor activities. […]

Traveller mothers-to-be face the harshest pregnancy and birth statistics in Ireland:  Higher rates of pregnancy loss  Higher rates of premature births  Lower birth weights  Infant mortality rate that is 3.5 times the national rate “These figures indicate that the majority of Traveller babies are effectively disadvantaged right from conception,” said Lynsey […]

Pavee Point is delighted this week to welcome a delegation from Scotland who have come on an information exchange in relation to working with Travellers. The delegation is made up of Scottish Government personnel as well as members of civil society and human rights organisations.  Scottish Ministers have recently joined to tackle inequalites in Scotland […]

Singer Thomas McCarthy spoke of  how music was all around when he was growing up at the opening of ‘My Comfort And My Joy’ at the Douglas Hyde Gallery on 18th September.  He explained that traditionally Travellers were the entertainment as they brought music and song from place to place. Thomas carries on this proud […]