Mr. Martin Collins:

Pavee Point submitted two documents late yesterday at around 4.30 p.m. I apologise for that but I hope members received them. I do not propose to read the documents now but I will make a few overarching points. My colleagues, Rose Marie Maughan from ITM and Bridget Kelly from the NTWF, put the issues in context very well, as did Angela Delaney. That personal testimony is very powerful and could be replicated hundreds of times, if not thousands of times, across the country in terms of Travellers' experience with accessing accommodation.

We have just emerged from a very cold spell. We had Storm Ophelia a few months ago as well as the beast from the east and Storm Emma last week. We saw on RTE television and on other media outlets stories about pipes being frozen, leaking pipes, people being without water and tanks being brought into estates by local authorities so people can get access to water, and rightly so. People have a human right to access clean running water. However, this is a daily occurrence every winter for Travellers. When exposed pipes are frozen or burst, Travellers must go to garages to get water to clean their children, wash themselves, feed themselves and prepare food.

No local authorities come onto the sites with tankers. This goes unnoticed and certainly gets no publicity. Travellers, as a result of this, are going to use swimming pools to wash themselves as well, if they are lucky enough to get in. Many swimming pools will not allow Travellers in. This happens every winter. It is not a once in every 15 or 20 years event as was the beast from the east or Storm Ophelia. That is the reality for hundreds of Travellers. There are 5,000 Traveller men, women and children living in substandard primitive conditions. The United Nations, UN, and other human rights bodies have said this constitutes a human rights violation.

It is important that we retain that language. These are human rights violations. This Oireachtas, this Government and this State, as my colleagues have said, continually fail Travellers in respect of access to culturally appropriate, adequate and secure accommodation, whether that is group housing schemes, halting sites or conventional housing. That is the reality. We need to hold on to that language. It is a human rights abuse. We welcome the review of the Act and think there is an implicit recognition there by the State and the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, and Minister of State, Deputy English, that what is there is not fit for purpose. I would describe it as shambolic. What is happening to my community as a result is shameful and an indictment on society.

Ms Maughan alluded to the European Committee of Social Rights where Ireland was found wanting on five grounds in respect of inadequate provision, lack of legal protections around evictions and so forth. Our starting point is the principle needs to be that what is there is not fit for purpose. It is broken. It is inherently fragmented and we need a new approach. If we can establish and accept that principle, that we need a new approach, then we can begin to negotiate in a constructive way what should replace that.

I disagree with everybody here. I am for decentralisation and local democracy. However, in this context local democracy has not worked for my people. It means more local democracy and less rights for Travellers. That is the reality. The evidence is overwhelming. There is a need for a new approach in respect of Traveller accommodation provision. We know there are going to be local elections next year in the summer of 2019. We know the present Traveller accommodation programmes come to an end at the end of this year. I urge the Government not to synchronises those events and not to try to develop or adopt Traveller accommodation programmes to coincide with a local election. We all know what is going to happen. Travellers are going to be used as a political football, as we have been all of our lives.

Unscrupulous politicians, of which there are many, let us be honest about this, will use this to garner some cheap political votes. It is reckless, irresponsible and potentially incites hatred. Somebody spoke about political leadership. We need more political leadership at a time like this. Travellers feel let down and disillusioned by the system. When I say the system, I mean the Oireachtas, the State and the Government. I hope that advice will be taken and the two processes separated.

Accommodation continues to be the most visible manifestation of the ongoing racism and exclusion of Travellers in this society. Ms Delaney spoke about being forced to live on the side of tip heads, dumps and in remote isolated areas with no running water and no sanitation. It is the opinion of many, and indeed the UN human rights bodies, that it continues to be the most visible manifestation of the ongoing racism and exclusion experienced by Travellers. There has been much commentary on that. Accommodation under international law is not just a stand-alone right. Any human rights expert will say that it is an enabling right. Having adequate accommodation allows people to access other rights such as access to education, employment and health care. It is a linchpin. It is not a stand-alone right. Sometimes we lose sight of that. In our discussions around this, we need to make those connections in respect of enabling other rights in health, education and so forth.

I work with a lot of good people in local authorities as well as public representatives and officials. However, they are operating in a system that is fundamentally flawed and they will say that privately. Some people say that supporting or voting for Traveller accommodation would be akin to a turkey voting for Christmas. That is why I am suggesting we need to decouple the local elections and the adoption of Traveller accommodation programmes in 2019. Overall, there is a culture of impunity. Nobody is held to account. All we get is a systems failure. No individual is held to account. I refer to the private sector where there are key performance indicators, KPIs, which need to be met. I am not saying we should privatise because we know what happened with privatisation and the overreliance on that, so while I am certainly not advocating that, I am using it as an example. There is no accountability. No individuals are brought to account. There is a culture of impunity. Plans do not get implemented and there are no sanctions and no penalties. That sends out a serious and dangerous message that this sort of behaviour is acceptable.

Chief executive officers of local authorities have an executive function. They have the power to override the elected members if they fail to implement Traveller accommodation programmes. We need more leadership from the chief executive officers of local authorities. They need to do the right thing and implement the Traveller accommodation programme if the elected members fail to do it. That power is not being utilised to the extent it should be. I remind people of that. Also, in the absence of local authorities fulfilling their obligations, there needs to be a moratorium on evictions. No evictions should be carried out. We saw that as a result of the terrible tragedy in Carrrickmines where ten people in our community lost their lives, there was a pathetic response of giving a fire alarm there, a fire blanket here and a little hose there. I am sorry to say our community colluded with that. I am embarrassed by that. It was like rearranging the chairs on the Titanic when these sites are fundamentally and inherently dangerous for people to live on. A major investment and refurbishment programme is needed, not a little alarm here, a fire blanket there and a hose there. That was inexcusable and indefensible.

While I have an audience, I will continue. I know we are operating in the frame around the review of the provision of and funding for Traveller accommodation. However, there is also a sizeable Roma population in this country. The most recent national Roma needs assessment, published by Pavee Point, spoke about the accommodation needs of Roma. Many are living in vacant buildings and abandoned cars. They are being let down by local authorities under housing Circular No. 41/2012. In all fairness to the local authorities, they are not responsible. It is a circular from the Department of the Housing, Planning and Local Government that imposes huge restrictions on what local authorities can and cannot do to meet the housing needs of the Roma community. We are looking for that circular to be repealed.