11 per cent of Travellers die by suicide - 7 times higher than the general population.
A new report from the Traveller Counselling Service recommends a state-supported crisis out-of-hours phone-line for the Traveller community and their families should be set up and led by Travellers themselves.
Manager at Meath Traveller Workshop, Marina Cunningham says the helpline is urgently needed:
"Suicide is seven times higher within the traveller community than it is in the general public. But having somebody to ring when when something happens or when a trigger might mean that somebody is going to take their own life is really vital. Seven times greater than the general population of the country - something has to be done and it needs to be done now".
