Ms Concepta de Brun:

There are just under 300 Traveller staff employed in the 27 primary healthcare projects and they amount to 69 whole-time equivalent posts. The majority of the workers are on between eight and 12 hours, to retain their medical cards. We take a very proactive approach to health literacy. Most of the work that we do with the Traveller primary healthcare projects is literacy proofed. We work very closely to try to get where possible accreditation through the FETAC system. Much of what we do is rooted in education. We need to be sure that we have the right people at the table when we are developing programmes in partnership with each other. We also call in experts. When we worked with the Asthma Society of Ireland we would have had doctors and nurses and specialists in diabetes at the table. We would not have gone off to do it ourselves.

If there was to be investment in this model because it works, the question would be whether services would need to be enhanced in primary care as well as improving the terms and conditions for the workers and if investment needed for men's health as well because only one-fifth or fewer of those workers are men. It is then a matter of considering the work coming through on mental health, health and well-being and other care groups and how to enhance that work by expanding that model.