Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be very brief. I have an observation. I have never seen a section of society that has been the subject of so many studies, strategies and recommendations than Travellers, and they are still in a situation where the Traveller community is now at a huge crisis point in their health. My question for Jim is in the context of the committee's recommendations. Are Traveller communities saying that the Traveller health advisory committee should be re-established?

The €10 million is for Traveller health specifically. Will the money for the Traveller health action plan come from a separate source or is part of the €10 million to be used?

On the implementation body, from listening to any speaker representing their community from the Traveller community I always get the message that it should be "nothing about us without us". They have to be included. I made this point last week also. Perhaps Mr. Walsh could take this message on board with regard to whatever plans are implemented and the Traveller community being represented. Community representatives are not asking, they are demanding, that this be addressed. This is why I have been so impressed with Missie. All of the witnesses here today have been involved with their communities but she has been pushing on Traveller health for so long. That is not to disrespect anybody else who has spoken here today.

When we asked a representative from the HSE last week about the ethnic identifier we were told that it would be a long process and the HSE is working with its European counterparts. This is another area we will have to look at. Brigid said there are examples out there and a scheme-----