This National Traveller Health Action Plan (NTHAP) outlines significant Traveller health inequalities that must be addressed during the 5-year period of 2022-2027. It contains a clear framework for the implementation and monitoring of the actions herein, including the need for targeting and mainstream measures as well as evidencebased policy, which requires systematic ethnic equality monitoring, including the introduction of ethnic identifiers on health data sets, so progress in health outcomes can be measured and the NTHAP adapted and updated as appropriate. This aligns with existing government policy, including public sector (Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty) obligations as set out in Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2014).

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Alcohol: The reported frequency of alcohol consumption by Travellers is comparable to that of the medical card holders in SLAN 2007. However 66.1% of male Travellers and 42.3% of female Travellers drink six or more alcoholic drinks on days when they are drinking alcohol, compared with 35.8% of male and 17.0% of female SLAN 2007 GMS medical card holders.

Smoking: More than half (52%) of Travellers were smokers, compared to 37% of the general population. There was little difference in the smoking rates between men and women and most smokers smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day.

Addiction: 66.3% of Travellers reported that illicit drug use was a problem in the community. The data showed that the prevalence of prescription drugs was a major concern for Travellers, particularly women.