Colette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. We have had discussions and one led to the commitment to review the Act. A lot of statistics have been cited but we have to reiterate them because of the scale of the crisis for Traveller families. According to the last local authority count of 2016, almost 7,000 Travellers are either sharing housing, are in bays or are living in unauthorised halting sites. In 2016, the Residential Tenancies Board found that 82% of landlords consulted were unwilling to rent to Travellers while the local authority plan for Traveller accommodation has a preference for rental. Its preference is for rental but the landlords will not let. This is a massive problem. According to the 2016 census, seven times more Travellers are living in overcrowded situations compared with the general population. That has a knock-on effect on safety. I am sure that when the Minister of State visited Spring Lane, he saw how close and overcrowded it was and how overloaded the electricity is. They are death traps. It is happening in sites throughout the country and is something that resulted in the Carrickmines tragedy. According to the local Traveller accommodation plans, there is unspent money, which we have already discussed, but there is also money that has not been drawn down.

Does the Minister of State accept the scale of the problem and its urgency? It is an important point of understanding. The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act provides no sanctions against local authorities which do not take measures to provide accommodation for Travellers. According to the European Commission in 2002, that may weaken effectiveness. We know that it weakens effectiveness. We have heard all the statistics and the individual stories and situations. We must recognise the scale of the problem and the fact that the Act is not working. We have the review but it is disappointing that the group has not met yet. The report has to come as soon as possible. Every day that passes is a day longer for people living in inadequacy. There must be a sense of recognising that we have a massive problem and there must be a sense of urgency.

Deputy Barry mentioned the European Committee of Social Rights. There have been serial violations of Article 16 of the charter, which have been identified on five different grounds. This is writ large in Europe. I have just become a member of the Council of Europe. It is mortifying and shaming for all of us to be justifying what is not happening for people in terms of accommodation. We are very sensitive to what others think of us, but they do not think much of our record on Traveller accommodation. There is a lack of sanctions or will, money is not being spent and there is delay and waste. There is a huge lack of trust among the Traveller community that anything can or will happen and their trust is further breached with every day that passes. I want to get a sense of urgency from the Minister of State and for the expert group to meet. He is the Minister of State, he should tell them it has to be done within three months. Let us just get on with it and build the faith that we need. According to the census, the Traveller population of Ireland is 30,000 but it is probably more like 40,000. That is not a large number of people. Had we the will to do this right, we could do so.