Half of the Travellers whose deaths were reported to the Parish of the Travelling People in Dublin over a 10-year period died before they reached 39 years of age, according to a study published yesterday.
The report, Travellers' Last Rights, examines the records of deaths "responded to" by the Parish of the Travelling People from 1995 to 2004. The parish was established in 1980 under the direction of the Vincentian Community in Ireland.
The report finds that 80 per cent of the Travellers whose deaths were studied, died before they were 65 years of age. Over the 10- year period, there were 231 such deaths reported to the parish "excluding those infants deceased before 40 weeks gestation".
Of the deaths studied, cancer was the most common cause of death for females (25 per cent) and road traffic crashes were the most common cause of deaths among males (22 per cent). Half of those killed in road traffic crashes were between 15 and 24 years of age. Eighteen men whose deaths were reported to the parish committed suicide.
"Men exclusively accounted for all suicide deaths, over three- quarters of whom were aged less than 39 years", the report states.
The report was compiled by Fr Stephen Monaghan, parish priest of the Parish of the Travelling People and Jacinta Brack who was involved in the Citizen Traveller Project.
It states that "Death rates are particularly high (by the standards that one might expect based on general population statistics) for Travellers in the areas of road traffic accidents, suicides, and to a less marked extent, accidental deaths generally."
The report stresses: "It is important to bear in mind that the information does not relate to all Travellers living in Ireland. It does not even relate to the total Traveller population of the greater Dublin area. It is confined purely to those deaths reported to the parish".
A 1987 Health Research Board study found Traveller health to be "significantly worse than that of the settled community". It found settled men and women had life expectancies of 75 and 78 years, while those for Travellers were 65 for both men and women.
The report, published yesterday by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, found that there were nine reported instances of sudden infant deaths among the Traveller community who attended at the parish. "For the total population (ie the general public throughout the Republic of Ireland) there were 349 such deaths over the same period".
Speaking at the publication yesterday, Dr Martin said the report underlined that Travellers continued to be "among the most disadvantaged groups in our society". He said the statistics were those of a people living in a third world country.
"I have a feeling that Ireland's new-found prosperity has, if anything, dimmed our awareness of the situation of the Travelling community. The facts presented today indicate [economic success] is not the only side of the story and Travellers continue to be among the most disadvantaged groups in our society. The fight against poverty will only be won when there is focus on the specifics," he said. "Trickle-down social policies tend to trickle away from the direction of the most disadvantaged."
Ms Brack said it was vital Travellers were legally defined as an ethnic minority if their health status was to be improved. This would ensure the development of policies targeting them and for their inclusion in anti-racism policies by such service providers as health professionals, the Garda Síochána and mental health services.
Traveller deaths: parish study Archbishop says the statistics on Travellers 'were those of a people living in a third world country'
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50%of Travellers studied died before their 39th birthday
70%of Travellers studied died before their 59th birthday
80%of Travellers studied died before their 65th birthday
