The Government has been urged to implement the national Traveller health strategy immediately and deploy staff for it within the Department of Health and Children.
The call was made by over 170 Traveller women who gathered in Galway last week to debate health standards within their own community which they describe as "appalling". Failure to implement the strategy with the full and equal participation of representative organisations "undermines Government commitments to building partnership" with the Traveller community, the meeting hosted by the National Traveller Women's Forum agreed.
A letter drawn up to send to public representatives highlights the need for action. The National Traveller Health Advisory Committee was established in September 1998 as one of the recommendations of the 1995 task force on the Travelling community. However, little progress has been made since a document was finally agreed last December, the Galway meeting heard.
The committee comprised representatives from the Department of Health and Children, the health boards and Traveller organisations, including Pavee Point, the Irish Traveller Movement and the National Traveller Women's Forum. It met from September 1998 to draft the strategy, and extensive consultations were held. The document agreed last December was to have been brought to the Minister before Christmas. It was expected it would have been debated by Government by February last.
However, in February the committee was told the strategy was now being "costed" within the Department, and subsequent meetings were cancelled. At the end of April the committee received a letter outlining issues and concerns the Department had with the document.
"This despite the fact that five representatives of the Department sit on the committee and signed off on the document over two months previously," according to Ms Rachel Doyle, of the National Traveller Women's Forum.
In May some of these issues were clarified, but Pavee Point met the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, to highlight its concern, shared by other Travellers' representative groups. It was given a commitment it would see the Department's draft strategy by May 28th, but this did not occur. A meeting of the committee planned for June 5th had to be cancelled at short notice.
The National Traveller Women's Forum wants confirmation that the strategy is to be adopted as Government policy and implementation "as a matter of urgency". It is calling for the appointment of an independent chairperson on the health action committee.
It wants staff deployed to the Traveller health policy unit within the Department of Health and Children, and a clear identification of resources.
