Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Flynn for raising this matter. I also thank her for all of the advocacy work she does on Traveller health and mental health.

As the Senator will be aware, the National Traveller Health Action Plan 2022-2027 was launched in November 2022 and was informed by the results from the All-Ireland Traveller Health Study and other official reports, including the report of the Joint Committee on Key Issues Affecting the Traveller Community. The plan was developed following consultation with representatives of the Traveller Community.

The Department of Health and the HSE are committed to developing priorities, strategies and actions on Traveller mental health within the framework of the national Traveller Health Action Plan 2022-2027. These will respond to the crisis in Traveller mental health and address the social determinants of Traveller mental health through targeted and mainstreaming measures.

As a first step, the Traveller health action plan contains six actions on Traveller mental health. These are being delivered through the HSE national service plan for 2023, supported by an additional ring-fenced budget of €300,000 to which the Senator referred. Our national mental health policy, Sharing the Vision, and our national suicide reduction strategy, Connecting for Life, all recognise this community’s specific mental health needs. My aim is to work in partnership with the Traveller community and representative groups across the country to improve the standard of services Travellers receive and to ensure more adequate mental health interventions which are rooted in cultural appropriateness and equitable care. The Department and the HSE will also engage with the Traveller community and representative organisations to develop and expand the actions as part of a mental health priority plan within the framework of the Traveller health action plan.

The newly-established HSE steering group on Traveller mental health will continue to consult with the Traveller mental health network on this task and Traveller representatives have been invited to be part of the group.

In 2022 the mental health service co-ordinators for Travellers received a significant grant through this collaboration from the Department of Health to support Traveller organisations across the country in promoting access to mental health recovery with the Traveller community at local level.

I know that the Senator spoke about the €300,000 not being enough but that was new additional funding. There are existing ring-fenced resources. There are nine Traveller mental health co-ordinators; €365,000 was allocated for Traveller mental health engagement in 2022 and further funding of €55,000 was awarded for a peer-led research project to develop a Traveller mental wellness framework in 2022. In addition, the National Office for Suicide Prevention provides annual funding for the Traveller mental health services in Exchange House Ireland National Travellers Service, as the Senator is aware, and also supports and funds for Pavee Point to also support Travellers.In 2022 the mental health service co-ordinators for Travellers received a significant grant. This has meant we are making progress in the ability of our health service to provide appropriate care to Traveller patients to meet Traveller-specific social and cultural needs. This work focuses on supporting and motivating the health service to engage in a more meaningful way with the Traveller community. I was delighted to meet with the group two weeks ago and we had a robust discussion. I am always open to meeting with the group to discuss what more we need to do. I accept we need to do more. As Members might have noticed, in budget 2024 I did not receive much funding for new developments but I ring-fenced specific funding to provide national coverage for the Traveller counselling service. For the first time ever, in 2024 there will be national coverage for Traveller counselling especially in relation to self harm, suicide ideation and people bereaved by suicide.