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Martin Collins is the co-director of Pavee Point.
Martin Collins of Pavee Point
Fr Micheál Mac Gréil published the study that measures the ‘social distance’ that people feel to various minority groups, and Travellers consistently are measured to be the most marginalised.
The health, infant mortality, maternal mortality and life expectancy of Travellers are all much worse than the general population.
The Irish Prison Service reports that male Travellers are 11 times more likely to be in prison than the general population, and female Travellers are 23 times more likely, the latter figure is based on a very small sample. This figure understates the true contrast, because a much higher proportion of Travellers are under 18 and thereby not liable to be imprisoned. In addition, there are over 450 Irish Travellers in British prisons, so Irish Travellers are more likely to be imprisoned in British Prisons than the general population is likely to be imprisoned at all.
