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Press Release - call for National Traveller Accommodation Agency

Press release---Press release—Press Release
10/12/02

‘The Irish Traveller Movement calls for the establishment of a National Traveller Accommodation Agency to enforce the implementation of Traveller Accommodation’.

The Irish Traveller Movement (ITM) today launched its report ‘Charting a Future Strategy for Traveller Accommodation’. The report provides and analysis on why local authorities and the government have failed to implement Traveller Accommodation and sets out a number of recommendations that, if implemented, would address Traveller accommodation issues.

Gràinne O’ Toole, National Accommodation Worker with the ITM in outlining the main points of the report highlighted that only 127 out of the necessary 2,200 halting site bays have been provided since 1995 to date. Ms. O’ Toole stated that ‘the main reasons for this failure are inflexible planning laws, racism at a community and institutional level, lack of implementation measures and the introduction of oppressive legislation’. She went on to say that ‘it is tragic that on International Human Rights Day Travellers are facing an increase in the abuse of their human rights such as continued eviction and the continued denial of a decent place to live’.

The main recommendations of the report are for the Minister of the Environment and Local Government as follows:

• The Minister should establish a Traveller Accommodation Agency on an interim basis pending the enactment of legislation to place it on a statutory footing.
• The Minister should review section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended by section 32 of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 and section 21 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002 and place a moratorium on use of this section until all appropriate accommodation has been provided.
• The Minister should repeal section 24 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provision) Act, 2002.
• The Minister should implement an urgent review of aspects of the planning legislation, which are proven impediments to the implementation of Traveller Accommodation. In addition, the issues highlighted in this report, in relation to planning, should be central to such a review.

Chris Flood in chairing the launch stated that ‘a National Traveller Accommodation Agency should be established with statutory powers as put forward in the report. It should have a mandate to meet the entire outstanding accommodation needs of Travellers within 5 years. The agency could build on the infrastructure, which is already in place and work closely with local authorities and Traveller organisations. It should be the driving force and be empowered to act when a local authority is seen to be failing’.

David Joyce, National Accommodation Officer of the ITM stated that ‘the is a lack of commitment by the government to social housing in general and the proposed watering down of the twenty percent social housing requirement in private developments shows a cynical attitude on the part of the current government to social housing and accommodation provision. The fact that over 1,000 Traveller families are living without basic services cannot be tolerated in Irish society’. He called on the government to introduce the agency with responsibility and powers to implement Traveller accommodation as a matter of urgency.

For further information contact:

David Joyce/Gràinne O’ Toole 01 6796577/ 087 2220253/ 086 3264115