More than half the Roma people in Ireland are living in consistent poverty, a study has found. The report, Roma In Ireland: A National Needs Assessment, was commissioned by the Department of Justice and conducted by Roma peer-researchers trained and supervised by the Traveller and Roma support organisation, Pavee Point. It found almost half of Roma households (45 per cent) lived in severely overcrowded housing, often without gas, electricity, running water or sufficient food. Researchers noted “malnutrition among Roma children” and “over half of respondents (52 per cent) reported someone in the household has gone to bed hungry”. [the poverty] can only be described as extreme and it is placing children’s welfare at risk,” the report says.

Source: The Irish Times January 18, 2018 00:56 UTC