Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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407. To ask the Minister for Health the steps being taken to ensure the delivery of the National Traveller Health Action Plan. [35132/20]

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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The National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS) is the Government policy framework for addressing the health and other needs of Travellers. It contains over 30 health-related actions across four themes. The Dept of Health and the HSE are represented on the steering committee for NTRIS and report on a regular basis on the various health actions.

A key health action in NTRIS (#73) is to develop and implement a detailed action plan to address the specific health needs of Travellers, using a social determinants approach. The lead role in developing the action plan rests with the HSE, in conjunction with Traveller organisations.

The Programme for Government also includes a commitment to implement a National Traveller Health Action plan.

The HSE has outlined a process, including establishing a steering group, which will lead to the completion of the plan. The HSE advise that the steering group hope to finalise a draft to give to the National Director shortly.

The Department of Health is fully committed to providing the leadership and resources to ensure the implementation of the plan.

Separately, Budget 2021 provides an allocation of €2.1m to enhance access to health services for socially excluded groups, including €270,000 to expand Traveller health units.

I welcome the additional funding for Traveller health in Budget 2021 as the first phase of the forthcoming HSE Traveller health action plan.