Traveller cot death rate 12 times the average

The rate of cot death among Traveller babies is now 12 times the national average, and more than 20 per cent of Traveller families are still living either by the side of the road or in basic halting sites, says a report from the Department of Justice.

The report - Second Progress Report of the Committee to Monitor the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Task Force on the Travelling Community - comes five years after the first report on the landmark recommendations of the 1995 taskforce.

This second report says: "The bottom line is that despite the allocation of considerable financial and staff resources and some progress being achieved, Travellers continue to have lower life expectancy, lower education qualifications and, in many cases, unacceptable accommodation."

Discrimination against Travellers "continues to be a significant issue", and "respect for equality and diversity is one of the hallmarks of a modern society".

The provision of good accommodation for Travellers, it continues, "continues to be a challenge".

Some 8.6 per cent of Traveller families continue to live on unauthorised sites - generally by the side of the road, with a further 13 per cent in basic service bays.

Traveller families that have been accommodated since 2000 total 1,371, compared with 516 in the previous four years, but "there is still much work to be done in meeting their accommodation needs".

The report says the availability of adequate accommodation affects how effective other Government services, eg welfare interventions and education, can be.

On education, it says: "If the Department of Education is to meet its aim of 'full participation of Traveller children' in [ the] education system' then considerable work is needed".

It calls for a Traveller education strategy based on a "root- and-branch review of all the existing schemes and measures targeted at Travellers".

Progress on Traveller health has been mixed. The report notes "the differential in sudden infant deaths between Traveller families and the settled community has increased to 12 times the national figure", higher mortality rates overall for Travellers and the increasing problem of drug abuse.

"We cannot continue to have the Travelling community treated as an underclass and have them deprived of the rights enjoyed by other Irish people."

Respect for Traveller culture is vital as a starting point and "in any case the wider 'Irish' culture would be impoverished without the input made by Travellers". Respect for the culture is "essential to nurture the development of Traveller children".

It acknowledges that the development of a positive relationship between the settled and the Traveller communities will be challenging, particularly as contact between the two communities is generally confined to formal relationships such as between Travellers and service providers.

But it says Government and the Traveller organisations need to work together. "However, while the commitment should be equal there are clear differences between the level of power and resources that each side has."