GTM HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT FINDS THAT TRAVELLERS ARE LIVING IN INHUMANE CONDITIONS THAT ARE DETRIMENTAL TO THEIR HEALTH
The first comprehensive study undertaken in Ireland on the link between Travellers accommodation and their health was launched on the 11th February, by Minister Eamon O Cuiv. The study found that Travellers’s accommodation directly results in poorer health across a range of conditions, including depression and anxiety, diabetes, kidney problems. It also found that living on such sites puts residents at significant risk of accidents and injury. The report contains a number of recommendations that would greatly improve conditions on existing sites if they were implemented. The report also clearly outlines the importance of involving Travellers in the earliest stages when designing new halting sites.
The GTM also produced two toolkits which could be used by Traveller organisations, public health and local authority staff and anybody with an interest in improving Travellers health and wellbeing. The first toolkit ‘Assessing Conditions on Traveller Sites’ provides a guide to assessing conditions on sites and the mitigation measures listed give examples of how potential threats can be minimized. The purpose of the ‘Planning & Development Issues’ toolkit is to assist Traveller organisations understand and engage more effectively at each stage in the planning, design and construction of Traveller specific accommodation.
