Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone, has today published a report by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs on young Travellers. The report is the fourth in the series of Statistical Spotlights, drawing together data from sources including the CSO’s Census of Population, the Department of Education and Skills, the All Ireland Traveller Health Survey, Pobal, the Health Behaviour in School Aged Children Survey, and the OECD PISA survey.
The report focuses on children and young persons who are members of the Traveller community, on topics such as health, housing, education and economic status. The Spotlight also contains a small amount of information on young Roma. It contains data on a number of areas including:
- The number of Young Travellers and the locations where they live;
- Fertility rate and number of births;
- Health status, disability status;
- Education levels of mothers;
- Pre-school and education from early years through to third level;
- Accommodation type and numbers in emergency accommodation;
- Labour force status; and
- Travellers as carers.
Some of the key findings of the report show that an estimated 3,080 Travellers and 688 Roma attending an Early Years Service in 2017/2018. Overall there were more than 18,000 young Travellers in Ireland, making up 1.15% of the total population aged 0 – 24 in 2016. There were more than 8,600 young Travellers under 10 years of age, almost 6,700 under 20 and 2,600 aged 20 – 24.
Welcoming the report Minister Zappone said,
This report will be a valuable resource, providing vital insights and information for policy-makers on children and young people who are members of the Traveller community in Ireland.
Notes for Editors:
The Statistical Spotlights series of publications was initiated in 2018 and brings together available information on a specific topic. The publications include a short commentary detailing (where relevant) trends and comparisons between sex, region, age group etc. The publications are intended to be topical in nature and of interest to both specialist and general readers.
Key Findings
· In 2016, there were 18,018 young Travellers in Ireland, representing 1.15% of the total population aged 0-24.
· In 2016, Galway County was the administrative county with the highest number of young Travellers in Ireland with 1,541, followed closely by South Dublin, with 1,347.
· Traveller women tend to have children earlier than the rest of the population – in 2016 7% of female travellers aged 15 – 19 had given birth to one or more children. This compares to 1% of the total female population aged 15 – 19.
· Infant mortality rates remain higher for travellers at 7.4 compared to 3.9 for the general population (2008 data).
· 70% and 20% of Young travellers to perceive their health status as very good or good. This compares to 80% and 14% of the general population of young people.
· The majority of traveller families with children aged 0 – 24 lived in semi-detached, detached or terraced houses.
· In May 2017 10% of families in emergency accommodation identified as from a Traveller background (Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government).
· In 2017/2018, Travellers made up 1.3% of all children attending an Early Years service. At primary level Travellers represented 1.4% of all mainstream pupils and at post-primary level Travellers represented 0.8% of all students (2018/2019 figures). At third level, Travellers made up 0.2% of all new entrants in 2017/2018.
· Almost 23% of Young Travellers were married, compared to just 1.2% of all 15-24 year olds.
· Young Traveller females aged 15-24 were more likely to be married than their male counterparts, at 24.6% compared with 20.7%.
· In q1 2019 Travellers accounted for 19% of children in Oberstown detention centre. By comparison, Travellers account for just over 1% of the population aged 12 to 18.
· Labour force participation rates of Travellers aged 15 – 24 in 2016 were 55.9%. This compares to 32.5% for the general population in that age group.
· There were 688 Roma attending Early Years Services in 2017/2018 and just under 1,750 attending primary school (in 2018/2019).
Data sources include the CSO’s Census of Population, The Department of Education and Skills (DES), the All Ireland Traveller Health Survey, Pobal, the Health Behaviour in School Aged Children Survey, and the OECD PISA survey
The previous Statistical Spotlight reports are available at: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c2a87f-the-statistical-spotlight-series/
Statistical Spotlight #1 Young Carers https://assets.gov.ie/27173/ca5dd7e11d864d399e00d49bc7e16af4.pdf
Statistical Spotlight #2 Family and Household Structure https://assets.gov.ie/27170/2668a5fc3f044975a5b0f3cc2e9e92b7.pdf
Statistical Spotlight #3 Reconcilation between Work and Family Life https://assets.gov.ie/45098/1acb106408fe4842ba85f30c79f9524e.pdf