A new study has found the rate of Tuberculosis among Irish Travellers is three times higher than in the white Irish born population.

The average age of an Irish Traveller with TB is 26 - compared with 43 in the general population.

This study was carried out by Trinity College Dublin in conjunction with the Health Protection Surveillance Centre and Pavee Point.

It also found that in Irish travellers, the average age of a TB patient is 26 - compared with 43 in the general population and 49 in the white Irish born population.

Researchers say this is just one in a series of studies which have shown poorer health outcomes for Irish travellers.

Infant mortality rates are around three and a half times higher and life expectancy at birth is more than 10 years lower compared to the national average.

The study calls for routine ethnicity data collection to determine specific risk factors that impact on the incidence of TB and other communicable illnesses in Irish travellers.