Editing Irish Travellers (section)

==Health==
[[File:Moeder en kind voor een tent, Bestanddeelnr 191-0828.jpg|thumb|Irish Travellers in 1930]]
The health of Irish Travellers is significantly poorer than that of the general population in Ireland. This is evidenced in a 2007 report published in Ireland, which states that over half of Travellers do not live past the age of 39 years.<ref>{{cite news |date=2007-06-25 |title=50% of Travellers die before 39 - study |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0625/breaking43.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320052242/https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0625/breaking43.htm |archive-date=2016-03-20}}</ref> (By comparison, median life expectancy in Ireland is 81.5 years.) Another government report of 1987 found:

<blockquote>From birth to old age, they have high mortality rates, particularly from accidents, [[metabolic disease|metabolic]] and [[Congenital disorder|congenital problems]], but also from other major causes of death. Female Travellers have especially high mortality compared to settled women.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dohc.ie/about_us/divisions/social_inclusion/travellers_health_status_study_1987.pdf?direct=1 |title=The Travellers' Health Status Study |year=1987 |publisher=Irish Dept. of Health |access-date=15 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120045307/http://www.dohc.ie/about_us/divisions/social_inclusion/travellers_health_status_study_1987.pdf?direct=1 |archive-date=20 November 2007 }} p24</ref></blockquote>

In 2007, the [[Department of Health (Ireland)|Department of Health and Children]] in the Republic of Ireland, in conjunction with the [[Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety]] in Northern Ireland, commissioned the [[University College Dublin]]'s School of Public Health and Population Science to conduct a major cross-border study of Travellers' welfare. The study, including a detailed census of Traveller population and an examination of their health status, was expected to take up to three years to complete.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ucd.ie/news/july07/100707_traveller.html|title=Minister Harney Launches All-Ireland Traveller Health Study|date=10 July 2007|publisher=UCD|access-date=15 June 2009}}</ref> The main results of the study were published in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ucd.ie/issda/data/allirelandtravellerhealthstudy/|title=All Ireland Traveller Health Study|date=September 2010|publisher=UCD|access-date=11 November 2015}}</ref>

The [[birth rate]] of Irish Travellers has decreased since the 1990s, but they still have one of the highest birth rates in Europe. The birth rate for the Traveller community for the year 2005 was 33.32 per 1,000, possibly the highest birth rate recorded for any community in Europe.

On average there are ten times more driving fatalities within the Traveller community. At 22%, this represents the most common cause of death among Traveller males. Some 10% of Traveller children die before their second birthday, compared to just 1% of the general population. In Ireland, 2.6% of all deaths in the total population were for people aged under 25, versus 32% for Travellers.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/europe/life-expectancy-of-irish-travellers-still-at-1940s-levels-despite-economic-boom-454993.html "Life expectancy of Irish travellers still at 1940s levels despite economic boom"]. ''The Independent'', David McKittrick. 28 June 2007</ref><ref>[https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0625/breaking43.htm "50% of Travellers die before 39 per study"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320052242/https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0625/breaking43.htm |date=20 March 2016 }}. ''The Irish Times'', Eoin Burke-Kennedy. 25 June 2007 (subscription sometimes required)</ref> In addition, 80% of Travellers die before the age of 65.

According to the National Traveller Suicide Awareness Project, Traveller men are over six times more likely to die by suicide than the general population.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.travellersuicide.ie/userfiles/file/ourgeels2010.pdf
 |url-status=dead
 |publisher=National Traveller Suicide Awareness Project
 |title=All Ireland Traveller Health Survey
 |date=September 2010
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408221125/http://www.travellersuicide.ie/userfiles/file/ourgeels2010.pdf
 |archive-date=2014-04-08
 }}</ref>