Ms Nora Mooney:

I am a Traveller from Kilmallock in east County Limerick. I am married with two children, one in secondary school and one in preschool. I represent Travellers in east Limerick on the HSE Traveller health unit and I am chairperson of the Kilmallock Traveller Women's Group, which was formed in April 2017. It is a lively, vibrant group that is ready to stand up and be counted. We are committed to working towards changing outcomes for Travellers. It is a mixed age group made up of grandmothers, mothers and young single women. In the short period since it was established, the group has also set up Kilmallock Traveller Men's Group. Ours is a voluntary group with no staff. We are dependent on volunteers. We are supported by Ballyhoura Development and receive funding from the HSE Traveller health unit for our group activities. We appreciate the opportunity to attend this meeting so members can hear about the situation in which we find ourselves in east Limerick.

Recently, an assessment examining the health needs of Travellers in east Limerick was carried out by Ballyhoura Development. I was the Traveller representative on the steering group for the project. This was the first meaningful engagement with the Traveller community in east Limerick. The methodology used to conduct the research was peer-led, which meant that members of the Traveller community were employed directly to carry out the survey. I am proud of the work the team of peer researchers completed. The outcomes from the report are not just findings, but our real life health issues which are not being addressed in a way that supports change for us. In this day and age and in this country, can one believe that only 29 out of 424 Traveller individuals in east Limerick are over 50 years of age? Worse, only three are over 65 years of age. One of them is my father. It frightens me to think that I might not see 50 years of age and that I am much less likely to reach the age of 65 years. For how long do the members of the committee expect to live? I am due to retire in 23 years' time. Our recent assessment demonstrates that I will more than likely not be around for this. It appears there will be no need for the old age pension or the fair deal scheme for me.

I wondered how I might get the committee to understand where we are coming from and how our health issues impact on our lives and those of our children. Now that we have completed the assessment we realise its seriousness and the time limits in which we must achieve change. The stereotype of Travellers has led to discrimination in all sectors, including education. My experience of education was not positive at the start. When I was in primary school, I was automatically segregated into a remedial class, without reason or assessment but simply because I am a Traveller. I often spent hours in the playground singing instead of being in class learning, which I was well capable of. It is no wonder that we are such good singers today, or is that another stereotype?

It was only when I was old enough to realise that I was being treated differently and told my mother that the situation changed. It was because of my mother's belief in my ability and her perseverance that I was eventually integrated back into the regular class. Since then I have completed secondary and third level education. I am forever grateful for my mother's intuition, but 30 years later I find myself doing the same thing for my children. What has improved? I know from the personal experience of my immediate family that the low expectation of Travellers to perform well in education continues, along with segregation and discrimination. If we cannot change this discrimination in primary school, where can we change it?

Do members realise that 48% of my community in east Limerick live in mobile homes or trailers? While I am lucky to have my house, and the mortgage to go with it, some of my family have been on a council housing waiting list for more than 16 years. That is 16 years of living in damp, mouldy, overcrowded conditions. Is it any wonder that our life expectancy is so low?

Some 80% of Travellers are unemployed compared to 5% of the general population.

We need meaningful employment opportunities for Travellers. I want to be able to ask my children what they would like to be when they grow up and to know there are no barriers preventing them from realising their dreams.

I cannot leave today without mentioning mental health and how the conditions and situations in which we find ourselves are impacting on our mental health. Every day, I see how mental health issues affect the people I love and care for. How many family and friends do members think I have lost? How long could they hold the weight of these factors on their shoulders? None of these issues is standalone. They are all interlinked and contribute to the multiple layers of disadvantage continuously experienced by my community. What can we do about it? Where is the innovation and the new ways of thinking, for example, Traveller-led methodologies across all sectors, including housing, education and health? This means that models similar to primary healthcare projects are applied across other sectors, specifically education and housing. We know this way of working achieves great results. For example, the assessment carried out in east Limerick identified 113% more Travellers than the census in 2016 identified. Ours is one of the best educated countries in the world. Why are we continuously using one-trick pony solutions when it comes to Traveller welfare? In east Limerick we are already on the brink of losing our oldest generation. We need support and resources to bring about change for our community. The first step for east Limerick is the establishment of a Traveller health primary healthcare team. While we have received a commitment in principle from the HSE, time is running out. Do I not deserve to be around to see my grandchildren grow up? We see ourselves as advocates for our community and we already bear the weight of our community on our shoulders. It is up to us to find the solutions, be the listeners, make the connections and find the words to help but we cannot do this without the support of this committee. I thank members for listening.