Irish Travellers protest at accommodation programme failure - Ireland

From the Public Interest Law Alliance

Last week, hundreds of people protested in Dublin at what they described as the “total failure” of the 15-year-old Traveller accommodation strategy. The protest outside Fingal County Council offices in Blanchardstown was attended by Traveller groups from around the country. In protesting, the groups highlighted what they say is the typical case of the McDonnell family living on Dunsink Lane, near a former dump in Finglas, who remain in appalling conditions a decade and a half after first seeking Traveller-specific accommodation.

Speaking at the demonstration, Martin Collins, Director of Pavee Point, said he was there in solidarity with “all Traveller families living in overcrowded, Third World conditions. The local authorities, the Department of the Environment and successive governments have failed the Travelling people. Government has failed to impose any sanctions on local authorities who have shown they have no will to provide housing for Travellers.”

The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 requires every local authority to address the accommodation needs of its Travellers. In 1999, a year after the Act came into force, 1203 Traveller families were living by the sides of roads, without running water, electricity, toilets or refuse collection. Today, according to the Department of the Environment, just 330 families live on such “unauthorised sites”. However, this is not taking into account figures released by the National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee of a further 952 estimated families in overcrowded, inadequate or other “crisis” accommodation.

In terms of implementation, local authorities are currently drawing up new Traveller accommodation programmes for 2014-18, which have been put out for public consultation and which must be formally adopted by the councils by 30 April 2014. However, going on the past record of the current plans, this indicates little progress. To date none of Ireland’s 34 local authorities have fully delivered on promised accommodation plans for Travellers. Dublin City Council, for example, said in its 2009-13 programme that it would build 118 new units of Traveller-specific accommodation, but it only built one facility. Fingal County Council in its 2009-13 programme said that it would provide between 79 and 91 new units, but it built 30 facilities.

The Irish Times has reported that attempts to build accommodation are often affected by local residents’ opposition. Recent strong opposition to the development of a halting site in the exclusive Mount Merrion suburb of South Dublin proposed by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown council highlights the extent of this problem.

The Irish Traveller Movement says the solution is to take the matter out of the hands of local councils by establishing an independent Traveller accommodation agency with powers to compulsorily purchase land. Alternatively, the ITM says it wants Minister of State for Housing Jan O’Sullivan to exercise her power under the Housing Act of 1966 to order local authorities to perform their housing functions if the Minister believes they have failed in those duties.