Level 1 Actions Part B: Level 3 Actions - Donegal County Council

Travellers make up less than 1% of the population in Ireland. Two out of
every five Travellers were aged less than 15 years in 2006 compared with one
in five for the population as a whole. Older Travellers (i.e. those aged 65 years
and over) accounted for just 2.6 per cent of the total Traveller population
compared with 11 per cent for the general population. The distinctive age
structure of the Traveller Community resulted in a median age of 18 compared
with a national figure of 33. (Census 2006).
2.4 Travellers in Donegal: Population Statistics
According to the latest census figures (2006) there are close to 22,369 Irish
Travellers living in Ireland, 365 of whom are living in Donegal 2 . However,
according to a survey undertaken by Donegal Travellers Project 3 in December
2006, there were 209 families resident in the county, accounting for 645
individuals 4 :
Number of Families 209
No. of males aged 18 and over 150
No. of females aged 18 and over 156
No. of males aged under 18 188
No. of females aged under 18 151
The 2008 annual count of Traveller families completed by Donegal County
Council in consultation with Donegal Travellers Project showed that the
number of families living in Co. Donegal had increased to 229 by November
2008.
Although there is a strong tradition of nomadism in the county the majority of
Travellers are permanently resident in the county. The chart below provides a
breakdown of where Traveller families are located in the county as at Nov
2008.
Location No. of Location No. of
Families
families
Ardara 1 Ballintra 5
Ballybofey 4 Ballyshannon 4
Buncrana 8 Convoy 6
Drumkeen 1 Donegal Town 6
Dunkineely 1 Kerrykeel 1
Killybegs 7 Kilmacreanan 2
Letterkenny 132 Lifford 3
Manorcunningham 7 Milford 15
Pettigo 1 Ramelton 6
2 Traveller representatives had expressed concern that the census figure may be an underestimate.
3 Traveller Population Estimation Survey’ carried out by the Primary Care team in Donegal Travellers
Project in 2006.
220