THE Mayor of South Dublin, Cllr Sarah Holland, has commended the Tallaght Roma Integration Project on the work they have done in helping the community integrate into Dublin 24.
The TRIP team service is run by the HSE with Roma volunteers who act as translators and encourage members of the community to access the service.
The team focuses on members of the Roma community who have fallen through the safety net and are finding it difficult to get GP care, resulting in long waits at A&E or avoidance of medical care altogether due to a lack of money.
They set up a mobile GP bus outside Tallaght Hospital before moving to a premises in Chambers House.
The mayor said TRIP had provided an enormous service to the community.
“At the launch yesterday, we heard from Gabi Muntean from Pavee Point and Emilia Caldaros, who volunteers at Chamber House, where the healthcare services are provided,” the mayor said.
“They told us of a mother whose child was burning with fever and who could not afford to get private medical care. She had no medical card, and spoke very little English meaning that she was effectively excluded from getting medical care for her child.
“Gabi said that the mother was so relieved when the child was seen by the doctor and given antibiotics – something we all take for granted.”
Cllr Holland went on to outline the discrimination faced by the Roma community.
“In some instances, the volunteers did not feel safe going home alone from their work in Chambers House, and had to be escorted for fear of being accosted,” she said.
“In this day and age, we should hang our heads in shame that citizens who are giving their time free of charge to provide a community service are being targeted, simply because of their ethnicity.”