Athy Travellers’ health programme gets €142k from Dormant Accounts
Kildare Traveller Action office in Athy being officially opened by Ann O’Donnell and cllr Aoife Breslin at the end of September Photo: Aisling Hyland
TRAVELLER health in the south of the county received some good news this week, with the announcement that Athy has been selected as one of five locations nationally to share €710,000 This is from the Dormant Accounts fund, and is to address the social determinants of Traveller health, according to the Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Colm Burke TD who made the announcement.
Kildare secured €142,000 the maximum allocation for this two year programme, and Kildare Traveller Action will lead this project.
This follows on the positive news from just three months ago when Kildare Traveller Action opened its new offices at the Parish Centre on Hawkins Street in the town.
In what has long been a problematic, and unaddressed sector of Irish public health, shockingly, half of all Irish Travellers don’t live beyond their 40th birthday, while 70 per cent fail to make it past 60.
Similarly, life expectancy for female Travellers is almost 12 years below the national average, a figure that drops to 15 years below for the men.
The successful application was made as part of the Sláintecare Healthy Communities programme, through the Local Development Officer in Kildare County Council.
Athy is one of 20 Sláintecare Healthy Community Programmes, established throughout Ireland by the Department of Health, in areas with a higher population of Travellers compared to the rest of the country.
Sláintecare Healthy Communities Kildare, in collaboration with Kildare Traveller Action, HSE, County Kildare LEADER Partnership, KWETB and other organisations, will work together to recruit a dedicated Traveller Community Worker, and will deliver programmes based on Traveller men’s interests, including the Engage National Men’s Health Training Programme.
The funding will also support the establishment of an after-school programme for Travellers attending primary school, and a support hub for secondary school students.
Chief executive of Kildare County Council Sonya Kavanagh said: "The Sláintecare Healthy Communities Programme in Athy, as part of the work of Kildare LCDC, is very positively working to engage local people in determining how they can live healthier lifestyles and enabling those changes to occur.
“This funding recognises the work to date and provides additional required resources for Kildare."
