Ms Missie Collins:

I have to ask why we are such a problem. It is not as though we dropped in over the past few years. We have been around for centuries. We have our own ways and our own culture, which is strong. To bring children up in living conditions their mammy and daddy are not happy with is the outstanding issue. It puts stress on the mammy and daddy and on the children.

To come back to the all-Ireland health study, we campaigned for that study. We first campaigned for a health strategy, which took us at least nine years. It should not have taken nine years when we see the state of Travellers' health now. It was launched in 2005. We then campaigned for the all-Ireland health study, which took us another eight years. We carried out a tremendous piece of work on that, and it was done from one end of Ireland to the other. We found out all the answers, and when I held that report over my head on the day it was launched, in the presence of the then Minister, Mary Harney, and many others who were with her, I was the proudest woman in Ireland because I believed something would be done about our health, living conditions, education and so on. Has there been any movement on that since then? No. We will be waiting till death's doing, and our people are dying younger. The suicide rate is seven times higher among Traveller men. How long more must we wait before we see a bit of civilisation in our own country?