Mr. Dick Brady:

It is fitting that this subject is being dealt with today, having regard to the cycle of the Traveller accommodation programme. It is good to see a real debate under way which I hope will filter into the development of the programmes mentioned. Dublin City Council is committed to the provision of top quality Traveller accommodation, with well maintained physical environments and of a type and in areas desired by families in need of such accommodation. Our recently carried out needs assessment indicates that 66% of families seeking accommodation have expressed a desire for standard accommodation.

The successful implementation of a Traveller accommodation programme is not solely the responsibility of the local authority. I will speak about timely implementation of the programme. A successful programme requires the support and goodwill of the Traveller community and also that of potential neighbours and local communities. It also requires the advancement of other facilitating schemes such as public private partnerships in order to achieve the timely provision of accommodation.

What has happened over the years is that difficulties have arisen in some of these areas and they have significantly delayed projects. It is a cause of great frustration to those working in this particular field that, within the Traveller community, there continues to be an element of anti-social and - dare I say it - criminal activity which has destroyed hard won Traveller-specific accommodation and facilities and which has resulted in fear among, and the threat of violence to, vulnerable members of the Traveller community. It should be noted that in the Dublin city area over the timeframe about which we are speaking, 79 units of accommodation and three community centres have been lost or destroyed due to this activity. During that time, we have spent in excess of €1 million on clean-up from industrial scale dumping.

There are two questions which arise. My colleague from Cork explained the first which is the false nature of trying to deal with allocation spend in a cumulative fashion. It is not a way to look at spend. He explained that, so I will not go into it in any great detail. The other is the reason for underspend. Again, if one looks at the submission the city council has made, there are valid reasons for that underspend which are clearly set out. In regard to the amounts of money spent by the city council, on the capital side, it has spent in the order of €3.7 million over the period of time but it spent €18.5 million in the same period of time. The total spend by the city council over this period of time has been €22.2 million.

The city council is committed to the provision of quality accommodation and a quality physical environment and will work with the LTACCs and the local advocacy groups to try to address the issues which have to date stalled and prevented planned developments going ahead and have seen the destruction of existing homes. Resolving these issues requires a holistic determined approach from all sides and the council will not be found wanting in this regard. To this end, the council intends to carry out a full review of its operational methods and procedures this year.