Senator Eileen Flynn has hit out at the lack of action by local authorities and the Government over the “appalling” conditions of Traveller halting sites around the country.
Ms Flynn stays at the halting site she grew up on, Labre Park in Ballyfermot, while working in the Seanad during the week.
She has told how children end up in hospital with an infection after getting a small cut after a fall.
She dismissed the notion that Travellers’ don’t want to change their way of living and said calls for better services in accommodation and healthcare are not being answered.
She said: “I hear an awful lot of; ‘Travellers don’t want to help themselves,’ but it’s so easy to blame people for the faults of society and that’s what they want us to do.
“I was born and reared on a halting site myself and I couldn’t tell you how many times I ended up in Our Lady’s hospital each time I fell with infections with the leg.
“Any time you fall and get a cut you’d end up on antibiotic drip for a day or two and that’s still a problem today for many Traveller children living on halting sites.”
She said local authorities are not being held to account and the evidence in recent reports show children are living in “absolutely appalling” conditions.
A recent damning report from the Ombudsman for Children’s Office led to the Ombudsman, Dr Niall Muldoon calling on Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien to seek assurances from local authorities that potential human rights breaches are being addressed.
Ms Flynn said some members are contracting hepatitis from drinking dirty water adding “all we’re asking for is appropriate services.”
She said there is a need for better education for women around maternity services and said Travellers face discrimination within the system.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror’s podcast, the Glass Ceiling, she said the supports are not there for women in general for after they give birth.
She said: “I know many women who had stillborns, I know many of women who had their babies die through cot death from my community.
“Even Labre where I’m from, there has been a number of cot deaths and still born babies in such a small community and on site.
“It’s very scary and I think it’s very tough for people from the settled community to understand that.”
Ms Flynn who is a mother of two said it’s time for the Government to “put the money where their mouth is” and develop a specific Traveller mental health programme which is separate to the Government’s ‘Sharing the Vision’ policy.
She said it needs to be culturally appropriate to tackle the crisis and said Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Mental Health Minister Mary Butler need to act now to help save young Travellers’ lives.
Addressing Traveller stereotypes, Ms Flynn said “it’s all bull” adding there are many “labels” that come with being a Traveller.
She said: “Just like any community you’ve got some rich people and really poor people and it’s no different in the Traveller community.
“You’ve got criminals, you don’t have criminals - you have it in every party of society.
“But if one Traveller does something wrong, we all do something wrong but yet we don’t do that to the settled community.
“There is good and bad in every single community.
“We’re all the chip off the one block but we’re not responsible for each other’s actions and we have to be mindful of that.”
Listen to the full interview with Senator Eileen Flynn on The Glass Ceiling podcast on Spotify, Google or Apple.
