Understanding attitudes to Travellers and Roma in Ireland

This study investigates attitudes to Irish Travellers and Roma in Ireland. Travellers are an Irish ethnic group. The Roma community is diverse in terms of linguistic and national backgrounds: many Roma came to live in Ireland in the past 30 years though some were born here. While they are distinct ethnic groups, Travellers and Roma are both marginalised in Irish society: experiencing discrimination and socio-economic disadvantage. Understanding the attitudes of the general population towards Travellers and Roma is important to assess the opportunities and barriers to their social inclusion. This report is based on a unique survey on attitudes to diversity from 2023, which surveyed a large representative sample of respondents living in Ireland about how comfortable they would be having a range of social groups as neighbours, in a love relationship with their child or in their child’s class at school. The survey analysis is supplemented by recent figures using Census 2022 data on the situation of Irish Travellers and Roma compared to the White Irish population.