Unemployment rate for Travellers is ‘unacceptable’

NEW figures showing that three-quarters of Traveller men are unemployed provide stark evidence the Travelling community are being excluded from the country’s social and economic life, it was claimed yesterday.

“These figures are quite striking and point to the barriers to Travellers gaining employment - and the level of discrimination in the workplace,” said Pavee Point director, Ronnie Fay.

According to the 2002 Census, 23,700 Travellers live in the State. Male Traveller unemployment at 73% compares with the general unemployment rate of 9.4%. Nearly two-thirds of Travellers drop out of school at primary level, compared to 21% for the overall population.

“We have been lobbying for a long time for the need for a Traveller education strategy to address issues such as an intercultural curriculum in the schools and the discrimination that Traveller children experience,” said Ms Fay.

Older Travellers - those over 65 years - account for just 3.3% of their community - compared with 11.1% for the general population. Two out of every five Travellers is less than 15 years old, as against one in five for the population as a whole.

“The most damning figure... has to be the young age profile of Travellers compared to the rest of society,” said Ms Fay.

According to the Census, the average age for Travellers is 18 years, compared to a national figure of 32.

She added: “This shows that Travellers are dying younger than the majority population. The National Traveller Health Strategy, published in 2002, needs to be implemented fully. Instead, the strategy is facing further government cutbacks. This is not acceptable. ”

Most Travellers live in permanent accommodation. Of the 23,700 recorded in the last census, 20,000 lived in households consisting entirely of Travellers. And 11,100 were living in private residences.

However, 7,400 lived in temporary accommodation while 1,500 did not indicate the type of accommodation they occupied.