1/9A thread on #COVID19ireland and how #Travellers are disproportionately affected by this pandemic

I recently carried out some research for a paper I was doing as part of my MSc in Human Rights. Here's what I found

2/ I studied a period of 15 weeks from 24 August 2020 to 5 December 2020 by gathering data from the HPSC reports 'Epidemiology of COVID-19 Outbreaks/Clusters in Ireland Weekly Reports'

3/ Per head of population, Travellers suffered 46% more COVID-19 cases within their community, than the mainstream population (over the 15 weeks)

4/ This comes as no surprise, given that Travellers suffer the poorest life expectancy of any social group in Ireland

5/ Traveller specific accomodation has long been overcrowded and often inhospitable. This is not because the funding isn't there, it's because local authorities are not spending the budget allocated to improving Traveller appropriate accomodation

6/ As an example, in week 42 of 2020, there were 833 cases per head of the Traveller population. Whereas there was 150 cases per head of the general population. That is unacceptable

7/ This pandemic has shown us that not every social group is adequately considered where COVID action plans are concerned

8/ It could have been a chance to begin to mend the hurt and systemic discrimination Travellers continue to face, but again they are pushed to the margins of society and willfully ignored

9/9 More has to be done to ensure the safety and well-being of Travellers during this pandemic @DarraghOBrienTD @rodericogorman