Ms Maria Joyce:

It was actually Traveller organisations that lobbied for the inclusion of health as a key piece in the national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy because of the failed implementation of the previous strategy. We lobbied for an implementation plan in one shape or another to be included in that strategy. The Travellers who participated in the process lobbied incredibly hard for that. The European dimension of the national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy has brought a bit more pressure to bear so that there is at least a draft on the table. There is a long way to go in this regard but it is misleading to say that this is not the context in which it is happening.