The All Ireland Traveller Health Study (AITHS) is a very large-scale and ambitious undertaking and represents a major commitment by the sponsoring stakeholders to Traveller Health. The census of families North and South marks the completion of the first stage of this exercise. Following on from this report is the vital statistics report and the consultative process with both Travellers and Service Providers, employing both qualitative and quantitative interview methodologies. The birth cohort study is still in follow-up stage, and is a major prospective issue for the future. This final report assimilates findings from all stages of the project together with recommendations.

We capture the complexity and heterogeneity of the modern Traveller community in Ireland as well as its commonalities currently and its links with the past. There is evidence of disadvantage, not a universal blanket picture but certainly a poorer health profile than the general population. In the 22 years since the last study the community has enlarged considerably but still has relatively modest numbers of people aged 50 years and upwards. We examine in more detail in the vital statistics report both the exact numbers in the current population and the patterns of mortality contributing to that population profile.