Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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231. To ask the Minister for Health in recognition of Travellers as a priority group as being at an increased risk of suicidal behaviour when he will instruct the Connecting for Life Advisory Group established in 2020 to meet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11831/23]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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232. To ask the Minister for Health in view of the recent conclusions of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, his plans to devise a specific mental health strategy for Traveller children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11832/23]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I have noted the recent conclusions on this matter by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Traveller Health Action Plan was launched in November 2022. 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. 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 will be delivered through the HSE national service plan for 2023, supported by an additional ring-fenced budget of €300,000. The actions reflect the priority status of Travellers in the Government mental health policies - Sharing the Visionand Connecting for Life,and will be reported upon as part of the Sharing the Vision Implementation Plan 2022 - 2024. Progress will also be monitored under the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy.

The Department and the HSE will also engage with the Traveller mental health network 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 consult with the Traveller mental health network on this task. Traveller representatives have been invited to be part of the group.

In light of the above, it is not envisaged that a separate strategy such as that suggested by the Deputy, will be developed at this time.