More than 50% of Travellers now settled

More than half of all Travellers live in permanent accommodation, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.

The figures, which have been collated from the 2002 Census, also confirm the younger age profile of the community, its high education drop-out rates and high unemployment.

The 2002 Census was the first in which a specific question was asked about membership of the Traveller community, and the statistics offer the first detailed picture of the living conditions, age profile and occupational status of the minority.

Of the 23,700 Travellers enumerated, about 20,000 lived in households consisting entirely of Travellers. Some 3,000 lived in "mixed" households, and the remainder in "communal" establishments such as hostels or B&Bs.

Of the 20,000 living in entirely Traveller households, 11,098 described themselves as living in permanent accommodation, and 7,365 as living in temporary accommodation.

Of the approximately 3,000 Travellers living in "mixed" households - i.e. with members of the "settled" community - the majority lived in permanent accommodation, bringing this total to about 14,000.

A spokesman for the CSO conceded, however, that the number described as living in "permanent" accommodation may be inflated.

He said the issue of what constituted temporary or permanent accommodation was open to interpretation as Travellers living in mobile homes or caravans may regard themselves as living in a permanent dwelling and so ticked this box on the Census form.

The Census also shows that of 7,000 Travellers who indicated the age at which they left full-time education, two-thirds left before the age of 15. This compares with 15 per cent of the overall population.

Unemployment among male Travellers is 73 per cent, according to the figures, compared with 9.4 per cent for the male population overall.

Mr David Joyce, of the Irish Traveller Movement, was neither surprised nor shocked by the figures.

"I certainly hope they shock members of the settled community and raise the issues such as why Travellers are dropping out of education and not participating in the workforce as much as they should. Is it because of discrimination?"

Among other findings were that Tuam, Co Galway, has the highest proportion of Travellers (7.7 per cent) in the State, followed by Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick (7.1 per cent) and Ballinrobe, Co Mayo (6.9 per cent).