A National Health Strategy, aimed specifically at the travelling community, is currently being drafted by the Department of Health and will be published shortly.

The publication will be based on a number of recommendations, which have been submitted to the Department by the National Traveller Health Advisory Committee. It is expected to focus largely on the issue of life expectancy, as travellers are more likely than members of the settled community to die from any given complaint.

"Upon publication, the strategy will be circulated to health boards who will be asked to draw up plans for the phased implementation of it", the Department said.

The Travelling Community is Ireland's only significant, indigenous ethnic minority. There are around 22,000 Travellers in Ireland, making up about 4,000 families.

Life expectancy levels are much shorter among this community. In particular, travellers' health is affected by accidents, metabolic disorders in the under 14 age group, respiratory ailments and some congenital disorders.

Travellers also have a much higher infant mortality rate, compared with the rest of the Irish population. Traveller women are more than three times as likely to miscarry or have a stillborn child as other pregnant Irish women.