Ms Maria Joyce:

Many of those issues have been highlighted by local primary healthcare programmes right across the country. It is also about where the gaps and deficits are.

On that point about education and literacy issues, part of the programme for Government currently has a Traveller education strategy. We need to see that developed and rolled out. We need to address the greater impact of mental health issues and higher levels of suicide rates among Travellers. For women alone, it is six times higher than the national average. We need to see a mental health strategy, which, again, is a programme for Government commitment for Travellers, that we have not seen yet.

We need to see the stark unemployment issues addressed. More than 80% of Traveller women are unemployed, but also more than 80% of men. We, therefore, need to see implementation and further development of that kind of policy context to identify where the gaps are. We also need to see the resources being put back into community development in this country.

There were massive cuts right across the board in the community and voluntary sector following on from the recession. They have not been restored. This is in the context of national Traveller organisations but I am talking in particular about the context of restoring those to pre-recession levels at local level. That is important.

It is important that where we have pieces of research, they do not sit on the shelves. I am talking about the Traveller policy. Much work went into developing research entitled, Different Paths, Shared Experiences: Ethnic Minority Women and Local Politics in Ireland. That report makes good recommendations for the State, the Oireachtas and the political parties. That will be another piece of research that sits on the shelf. It is not being resourced to implement.