Mr. Martin Collins:

I thank the Chairperson, Deputies and Senators. On behalf of the delegation, I welcome the opportunity to address the committee on this important issue, namely, the Traveller accommodation crisis. The budget allocated for Traveller accommodation has been greatly reduced but the fact that it has not been fully spent is even more shameful, and my colleagues will say more about that.

I acknowledge and thank Deputy Ellis and the Sinn Féin Party for putting this important issue on the agenda and for shedding some light on it. It is important to put this issue in its broader context. The committee may be aware that Pavee Point recently launched a report, Travelling with Austerity, copies of which I have given to the members and I have more copies if other people want to look through it. This report captures the extent and nature of the cutbacks on Traveller projects and services since the recession began in 2008. Essentially, it exposes the lie that the cuts have been even, balanced and fair across the board, rather they have been disproportionate and draconian. For example, funding for the Traveller inter-agency groups at local authority level has been abolished. Funding for Traveller education supports have been reduced to the tune of 86% and funding for Traveller accommodation has been reduced to the tune of 85%, and my colleagues will say more about that. The budget for the equality infrastructure has been reduced by 76% and national Traveller organisations have suffered cuts to the tune of 63%. Funding for the FÁS special initiative, which was designed to support Traveller employment, has been reduced by 50%. The evidence is set out in the report and it shows that these cuts to Traveller projects and services are anything but fair. The implications of these cuts is that they will only serve to marginalise another generation of Travellers. That will be the essence of their impact. It is even more shameful when we find that the budget for Traveller accommodation, which has been drastically reduced, has not been fully spent, on which members will hear more details shortly.

I wish to deal with two key points. The Government is pursuing a policy, set out in its programme entitled Putting People First, of local government reform. One of the proposals in that programme is to have local development and community development subsumed into the local authority structure. Pavee Point and the other Traveller organisations are extremely concerned about this because it will take away the independence and the critical voice, namely of the Traveller community development projects, which have done innovative work during the past 30 years in dealing with issues of domestic violence, drug addiction, feuding, advocating for Travellers' rights and negotiating with the local authorities. That 30 years of experience, expertise and knowledge that has been built up could be wiped out in one fell swoop, particularly when local authorities have failed to address the concerns and needs of Travellers, about which members will hear more shortly. We ask the Government and this committee to reflect and reconsider the proposal set out in Putting People First whereby local authorities would be given responsibility for Traveller community development projects. We are very concerned about that.

We call for the establishment of a national Traveller agency. It is clear that both the local and national institutions of this land have failed to implement a policy that would give rise to favourable outcomes for Travellers. In that context, what is needed is a separate independent national agency that would be mandated and would have the proper resources and legislative backup to implement Traveller policy across the board, not only in the area of accommodation but in respect of education, health, employment and equality. I ask the committee to give that proposal serious consideration. The evidence during the past 25 years tells us that the infrastructure in place in terms of institutions of this State has failed to address the needs of Travellers in any cogent coherent way.