Mr. David Kelly:

The challenge with the Traveller accommodation budget has been in getting it fully spent. Every year, the Department seeks proposals from local authorities and then allocates funding to each authority. Spending has been disappointing. In 2018, spending was up 25% on the previous year to approximately €6 million but that was from an overall budget allocation of €12 million. There is a commitment in A Programme for a Partnership Government to analyse that situation. The Housing Agency commissioned a review to look at the delays in delivering Traveller-specific accommodation projects. On foot of that report, the National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee, a statutory committee established under the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, advised the Minister that there was a need for some independent thinking in this area. An independent expert group was established by the Minister of State, Deputy English, in late 2018.

That expert group will submit a report to the Minister this month. It will examine the barriers to delivering Traveller accommodation and make recommendations on how we can address those barriers and improve the delivery of Traveller accommodation. It will look at the relevant legislation, including the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, and at the various policies. I know that planning was one of the issues considered. The Minister has committed to bringing forward relevant policy, including legislation, to give affect to the recommendations in the report. Hopefully, we will have some published responses in the Department in the autumn.