Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The funding is not ring-fenced for Traveller accommodation. If the money is not spent in one year, then it is lost. It is not carried forward and does not accumulate. The budget has been increased. There is no point doing so if the money is not spent.

I want to clarify a point that I made earlier. Public representatives have a role to play and there is an onus on them to make decisions. Executives in some of the local authorities have a role to play sometimes and, equally, they have not pushed for Traveller accommodation. I think the problem is a combination of both. I will not sit here and simply blame public representatives because both the executive and public representatives have significant roles to place in this matter. If the terms of reference identify where the real blockages are, then we can address the problem.