merrion street

The Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Hildegarde Naughton has today announced details of a €500,000 plan to address homelessness among Traveller women.

As outlined in the Traveller Health Action Plan, the funding will be used to improve healthcare services and address the social determinants of health for Traveller women who experience homelessness and who are transitioning to independent living. It is being developed in consultation with Traveller groups.

The plan will be implemented in four steps:

• Consultation with HSE National Social Inclusion Office and CHO staff, homelessness service providers, and services operating in the domestic violence and women’s refuge fields. The main focus will be on exploring whether services in these fields offer services which are culturally adapted to the needs of Travellers.
• Delivering a national call for funding proposals from high-quality, ambitious, sustainable projects which are culturally adapted to the needs of Traveller women and their children. The assessment of the proposals will be carried out by a panel of experts, including Traveller women.
• Funding the implementation of these models of best practice.
• Supporting the development of a national model to support Traveller women and children at risk of homelessness with a practical implementation guide.

Minister Naughton said:

“During Women’s Health Week, it is fitting that we are announcing a plan that aims to improve healthcare services for Traveller women.

“Taking a culturally-sensitive approach, it focuses on the intersectionality of ethnicity, gender and homelessness faced by this group.

“We know that Traveller women are more likely than the overall population to face sub-standard living conditions and become homeless, which as a social determinant can negatively impact their health.

“The plan outlined today is an important step towards addressing this, and it builds on the commitments for change promised in the new Traveller Health Action Plan.”

ENDS

Notes to editor:

Travellers face markedly worse health outcomes than the settled population. For women, this results in life expectancy that is 11.5 years shorter than the general population. Mortality rates are 3 times higher than for women in the general population.

Women account for approximately 42% of the adult homeless population in Ireland, with this number rising to approximately 44% in the Dublin region, in comparison to an average of 20-33% across Europe. However, when an intersectional lens is applied to the homelessness crisis, Traveller women account for approximately 50% of the overall Traveller adult homeless population. This includes Traveller women who have experienced or are experiencing domestic violence.