Substance use and addiction is an “epidemic of seismic proportions” in the Traveller community, with significantly higher levels of drug-related harm compared with the general population, a new report has found.
The research, published on Thursday, examined the impact of substance use on Travellers in Ireland, and found many experience barriers to treatment and have poorer outcomes when compared with the settled population.
The report found Travellers account for 2.5 per cent of all recorded addiction treatment episodes, despite representing less than 1 per cent of Ireland’s population.
The average age of first drug use among Travellers is 15, and more than half of Travellers accessing treatment are already parents.
READ MORE
Travellers report high rates of polydrug use – meaning the use of multiple substances at once – and lower treatment completion rates than the general population.
Alcohol and opioids remain the main problem substances, with a significant rise in cocaine use, particularly among Traveller men.
Traveller women experience high levels of prescription drug use. The research also highlighted the interconnection between substance use and mental health difficulties.
Anne Marie Sweeney, a Traveller woman in recovery, began using drugs and alcohol when she was a small child, and had her first overdose when she was nine or 10.
“As a Traveller woman, we are the backbone of our family and community so admitting to struggles with mental health or addiction can feel like a weakness,” she said.
“The shame that it brings to you as a mother and your children is devastating. It’s powerful ... to be able to come out the other side, back into the community as a peer worker, to help people like myself and show them it is possible to get through addiction.”
The research highlighted a link between substance use in the community and wider social determinants of health, including racism, discrimination, poor living conditions and overcrowding.
John Paul Collins, community development worker at Pavee Point, said the issue affected Traveller women, men and children.
“We are seeing the ramifications of this on Traveller families who are in fear. We’re moving beyond shame and stigma – now to normalisations; but it’s not normal for young children and families to be seeing this on a day-to-day basis,” he said.
Dr Lynsey Kavanagh, codirector of Pavee Point Traveller and Roma centre, said the findings of the report were “stark but not surprising” and illustrated the “epidemic” problem.
The report makes a number of recommendations, including the urgent finalisation and implementation of a new national drugs strategy and action plan, with specific actions for Travellers, as well as expansion of targeted programmes in addiction services and Traveller organisation.
The report was commissioned by the Eastern Region Traveller Health Unit, the Health Service Executive and Pavee Point, and was carried out by researchers at Trinity College Dublin.
