The National Traveller Health Action Plan (NTHAP) was published in November 2022. The National Traveller Health Action Plan Implementation Group has been set up in line with Action 1 of the Plan. This is particularly crucial given that Travellers, Traveller organisations and the HSE have put significant energy and trust into the development of the Plan with the hopes that it will deliver essential and urgent changes for Traveller families on the ground.

The development of local 5 year NTHAPs are underway in each region and it’s important to ensure active participation of HSE (in all divisions) and Traveller organisations or Traveller Primary Health Care Projects in the development of these Plans.

Contact your THU coordinator for more information. You can review the NTHAP here.

The publication of NTRIS II in July 2024 was the direct result of lobbying by Traveller organisations and groups working with Roma for the development and implementation of a comprehensive successor strategy to ensure a strategic, coordinated whole of government approach to Traveller and Roma inclusion.

Pavee Point commends the work undertaken by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and in particular, Minister Roderic O’Gorman, TD, to lead and steer this process.

NTRIS II delivers on a commitment in the Programme for Government (2020) to ensure a stronger outcomes focused approach to Traveller and Roma inclusion in Ireland. The development of the strategy was informed by a comprehensive national and regional consultation process with Traveller organisations and groups working with Roma. Key Government Departments and State Agencies were actively involved in the development of the Strategy, with strong commitments to partnership working.

NTRIS II contains nine themes, aligning with the EU Roma Strategic Framework on Equality, Inclusion and Participation 2020-30. Each theme has associated strategic outcomes, and there are 80 associated actions included in the Action Plan. 

NTRIS II Themes are: 

1. Combating Racism and Discrimination
2. Children and Young People
3. Gender Equality
4. Health and Wellbeing
5. Employment and Enterprise
6. Accommodation
7. Education
8. Culture, Heritage and Identity
9. Participation, Empowerment, Cooperation and Accountability (including

Implementation)

NTRIS II Key Actions

The Action Plan contains 80 actions with KPIs/deliverables, responsibilities and timelines for implementation of actions. Actions include:

Public Sector Duty

• Review the implementation of the Public Sector Human Rights and Equality Duty, with reference to its overall impact, including for the Traveller and Roma communities, and draw up recommendations.

Training

• All government departments (and all organisations/agencies under their remit) commit to cultural awareness training for all staff within 3 months of employment

Data

• Review the current systems of data collection across all state-funded organisations, processes and systems relevant to the Traveller and Roma communities to identify any gaps that exist; consider further publication of disaggregated data; and consider ways to improve the quality of data collected, including through communication and information, informed by the upcoming National Equality Data Strategy.

Research

• The Strategy and Action Plan have a strong focus on commissioning research. While in some instances research may be required, research areas must be identified in partnership with Traveller organisations and groups working with Roma in line with research integrity and ethics.

New developments

• Roma Health Action Plan
• Develop and implement a Traveller and Roma Training, Employment and Enterprise

Plan as committed to in Programme for Government 2020 to support, and build upon, the delivery of the strategic outcome and objectives of NTRIS II in the area of employment and enterprise.

Supporting a strong Traveller and Roma infrastructure

• Undertake an audit of local representative structures with the aim of identifying gaps in local structures, by local authority area, and making recommendations in relation to the same.
• Assess advocacy and local representation needs of Roma communities at local level and to support the extension, as appropriate.

Read our briefing document here.

Read NTRIS II 2024 – 2028 Strategy.

Read NTRIS 11 2-24-2028 Action Plan.

Pavee Point lobbied for the development of a Traveller and Roma Education Strategy to address Traveller education inequalities. We were successful in having a commitment to this included in the Programme for Government 2020. 

Pavee Point welcomed the publication and launch of the first national Traveller and Roma Education Strategy (TRES) in July 2024 by Minister for Education, Norma Foley, TD, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Roderic O’Gorman, TD, and Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O’Donovan, TD. Specific targets in relation to Travellers and Roma have also been included in the National Access Plan for Equity of Access, Participation and Success in Higher Education, 2022 – 2028.

The goal of the the Traveller and Roma Education Strategy is to:

“Ensure equity of access, opportunity and outcomes, as well as meaningful participation, across the continuum of education for all Travellers and Roma, including people with additional educational needs, in an inclusive system where Travellers and Roma are respected and supported to fulfil their potential, and where Traveller and Roma cultures and ethnic identities are acknowledged, visible and valued.”

The Plan for Implementation embeds the strategy and the associated actions in Ireland’s national and international human rights obligations. Developing the Strategy involved a collaborative process including consultations coordinated by Traveller organisations and groups working with Roma which led to an independent report recording the concerns and recommendations. The structures inclusive of Travellers and Roma outlined to oversee and monitor implementation of the Strategy now need to be urgently established so that the principles and commitments  in it can begin to become real.

Key actions in the Plan include: 

• Increase the numbers of young Travellers and Roma  remaining in school to 6th year and achieving a Leaving Certificate
• Promote training on inclusion and diversity through teacher professional learning, develop more targeted cultural competence training
• Promote diversity in the education sector workforce
• Teach Traveller culture and history through the curriculum
• Introduce an information series on key education matters and policies as they relate to Traveller and Roma children and young people, which is accessible and available in a number of languages

Through the Equal Start early learning and childcare model:

• Ensure all Traveller and Roma children participate in the ECCE programme
• Welcome and include Traveller and Roma families in early learning and childcare
• Ensure all early years educators and school age practitioners have training and resources in diversity and inclusion
• Offer additional supports to targeted services
• Ensure that students accessing tertiary education have a positive and welcoming experience
• Provide flexible and responsive learning opportunities
• Create safe and inclusive higher education campuses
• Through research, identify barriers to accessing tertiary education

Read Pavee Point’s short note on TRES. 

Read TRES here. 

Read the TRES Plan for Implementation here.

Pavee Point’s Co Director Martin Collins is a member of the National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee.  This is only statutory national committees on Traveller issues.

Through this committee Pavee Point is advocating for the establishment of a Traveller Accommodation Agency to implement policy on Traveller accommodation and also lobbying for the implementation of the recommendations of the Expert Review Group on Traveller Accommodation published in 2019.

While we see the potential of the Third National Strategy on Domestic Sexual Gender-based Violence (DSGBV) in addressing DSGBV as experienced by Traveller and Roma women and children, we regret that its associated action plan lacks targets, indicators, outcomes, timeframes and budget lines to do so.

The State has established a dedicated DSGBV Agency, Cuan, to drive improvements in this area. It is essential that Cuan directly engages with Traveller and Roma organisations in their work , ensuring the mainstreaming of Traveller and Roma within the work of the agency.  Additionally, there is a need to support l special measures to ensure safety and protection of Traveller and Roma women and children. 

Gender-based violence is deeply rooted in gender inequality. Achieving gender equality goes beyond simply eradicating violence against women, however, it is a first crucial step in a longer journey towards achieving gender equality for Traveller and Roma women. The DSGBV programme is evolving to encompass other topics based on need, such as the current consent programme and imagery based sexual abuse information.

The National Roma Needs Assessment found that 20% of Roma in Ireland are living in ‘extreme’ poverty and many are unable to access basic social protection. Many Roma are unable to obtain social protection payments due to the way the European Directive 2004/38 on the freedom of movement and residence is implemented. In the Irish context, this requires applicants to meet the Habitual Residence Condition (HRC).

The Roma Needs Assessment found that 49.2% of households with children were unsuccessful in their application for social protection payments, and therefore were not receiving Child Benefit (a universal monthly payment for all children in the State) or other crucial supports.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has identified that the application of the HRC to Child Benefit is a human rights issue, particularly impacting children from migrant, Roma, and Traveller backgrounds as well as asylum seeking children. It is also contrary to international human rights law. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits any discrimination between children on the basis of the status of their parents, and requires that all decisions (including social welfare decisions) must have ‘the best interests of the child’ as a primary consideration.

We are asking the Government to make Child Benefit a truly universal payment that is not contingent on the fulfilment of the Habitual Residence Condition.