Mr. Jim Walsh:

The update we have from the HSE is that it will be ready by the end of the year. A draft was done but there was a change in personnel. The leader in the social inclusion office has just retired and there was a bit of a transition. The HSE will probably say more about that next week. The work is now being led by the chief officer of CHO 6. That senior person is now pulling the plan together with Traveller input and we hope to see it by the end of the year.

I agree completely on the silo system. I refer to the national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy led by the Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, Deputy Stanton. The strategy is important because it involves a whole-of-Government approach and brings all the actors together, including Departments and Travellers. Within that, we have over 30 actions, including actions to reduce the health inequalities experienced by Travellers and Roma. There is a very good plan of action there and we could get more traction on that, especially with regard to the social determinants of health. In the context of silos within silos, however, we need to be careful.

If we look at the €10 million - the pot of money we have - we can see that more than €17 billion is going into the health system, so Travellers' needs need to be prioritised across the system.

Something in my paper that I did not get a chance to talk about is the idea of proportionate univeralism. Mental health, which has €1 billion, is a very good example. They need to prioritise and I think they are doing so. That is where there are lot of resources. We can look at other examples across the system as well. The €10 million we have is focused on primary care, particularly initiatives with Travellers. That is really important and we need to grow it and reverse the cuts that took place. The action plan will provide a clear mandate as to what is required. The Department and the Minister are committed to giving leadership to implement and fund that plan. We need a roadmap. Then the Department can be challenged about what it is doing to support that.