Travellers and the Irish education system Irish Travellers are a minority ethnic group that has been part of Irish society for centuries. They have a value system, language, customs and traditions, which make them an identifiable group both to themselves and to others. Their distinctive lifestyle and culture, based on a nomadic tradition, sets them apart from the general population. One of the key issues of concern for Traveller organisations - The denial of Ethnic status to Travellers by the Irish government we believe represents a contemporary form of isolationism and racism, this was identified by the former UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, "the most significant manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance include the rejection of diversity" The National Traveller Health Study conducted in 20081 states the Irish Traveller is 36,224 in the Republic of Ireland. The population profile of Travellers is similar to that of developing countries with a high birth rate and a young population coupled with high mortality rates and a life expectancy much lower than that in the general population. For example, 62% of the Traveller population is aged less than 25 years compared with the national figure of 35.3% while 2.6% of the Traveller population is over 65 years of age compared to 11% nationally. Only 25 Travellers were over 85 years of age when the field work was conducted in 2008. Traveller women have a life expectancy of approximately 71 years, which is 11.5 years less than women in the general population, and is equivalent to the life expectancy of the general population of Ireland in the early 1960s. The study also found that over 55.1% of Travellers who were interviewed felt they had been discriminated against in getting work on one or more occasion. Also over 62% of Travellers felt they had been discriminated against in school on one or more than one occasion. Traveller women's experience of inequality and discrimination differs to that of the majority population, as is their experience of racism and discrimination is different to Traveller men. The needs of Traveller women may not be met by responses and strategies designed to confront and tackle gender inequality or ethnic discrimination alone, i.e. without an examination of the interaction of ethnic disadvantage/discrimination. Acknowledging and addressing this experience is central to outcomes for Traveller women, as the experience of a Traveller woman will sometimes be distinctive because she is a woman, sometimes because she is a Traveller, and sometimes because she is both. An important mechanism for assessing and monitoring the situation for Traveller women is and will be through effective and up to date data collection All-Ireland Traveller Health Study, 'Our Geels' (2010), Dept. of Health