Report shows Traveller hurdles

Travellers are still more likely to leave school early and the rate of progress when it comes to completing the Leaving Certificate is still way behind that of society in general, according to a report to be launched today.

A Social Portrait of Travellers in Ireland was written by senior researchers at the economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and compares data taken from censuses in 2006 and 2011, and indicates that even among younger Travellers there is a much smaller percentage of people who have completed second- level education.

One of the authors of the report, ESRI associate research professor Dorothy Watson, said the findings indicated the need for a new approach to raise education levels among the Travelling community, particularly as issues involving nomadism seem to be less of a factor than in previous decades.