“A significant minority” of Travellers are not observing the guidelines with regard to Covid-19, the director of Pavee Point has said.
Martin Collins of the Traveller and Roma support centre told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland that “by and large” the message about the importance of social and physical distancing and hand washing is “getting across” and that Travellers are observing the restrictions.
But there is “a significant minority” who are “not taking this issue seriously” and are not following the guidelines.
Winnie Reilly added there are huge challenges for some members of the Traveller community, especially older people, many of whom could not read and so could not follow the instructions in the booklet issued by the Government.
Limited space also made it difficult for anyone to self isolate, and she pointed out it was difficult to follow hand-washing instructions without running water.