Ms Siobhán McArdle:

The model we described is countrywide. The 27 primary Traveller primary healthcare projects are in every county. There is a Traveller health unit across every part of the CHOs. They were developed initially for primary healthcare, incorporating things like health promotion and accessing GP services. In more recent years we have moved towards looking at specific targeted approaches. For instance, on the basis of the all-Ireland health survey, there have been targeted approaches to identify the chronic health conditions driving morbidity and lowering life expectancy. Even more recently we have looked at mental health.

The challenge is that we are still looking at the same cohort of staff within those projects. The ask for us is investment. Every year we make applications to the Government for expansion of those services. We have seen investment in mental health services for members of the Traveller community, but it is only the start. There is need for further investment to ensure that the good models that work in primary care can be expanded across other care groups to ensure that the different members of the Traveller community - not just the women who are supporting their children's health particularly, but also men and older people in all age groups - are attracted to working within and providing supports for the community.