Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank everybody for coming in today. It was a sobering commentary on Traveller mental health in the past 18 months. A situation that was dire prior to the pandemic has been exacerbated because of this terrible virus.

I will maybe ask Ms McDonnell a question. Dr. Mick Ryan from the World Health Organization, WHO, addressed a Galway Traveller movement event last week. Dr. Ryan stated, in general terms, that Ireland and other countries are underestimating a "tsunami of mental health issues" that are emerging as the pandemic continues. In terms of the Traveller community, how was this exacerbated? Ms McDonnell alluded to it already in her statement, but in what Ms McDonnell, friends and her family have seen, how was this exacerbated in the past 17 months?