Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is welcome. I do not have any doubt about his personal determination with this issue but Traveller accommodation is probably the poorest relation when it comes to accommodation in general. I know there is a regular debate on the issue of asylum seekers and direct provision centres and while there are many challenges there, the single biggest challenge this country has is to provide appropriate and proper accommodation to Travellers because over the years, Governments negated their responsibilities towards the Traveller community. It was not just Governments; local authorities were allowed to abdicate their responsibilities as well. To be frank about it, every local authority in this country has an appalling record when it comes to accommodating Travellers. They have been let away with it by successive Governments and by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. The Government is starting from a low base but this is an emergency situation.

I welcome the recommendations of the committee and the plans to try to escalate the implementation of same. It annoys me to see Government approving money for Traveller accommodation and local authorities not drawing it down year in, year out. Some local authorities are better than others but by and large, local authorities do not draw down the money they have been allocated. I would like the Minister of State to elaborate on his thoughts on this. Some €13 million was allocated this year for TAPs. Of that, by the end of 2019, I contend that most local authorities will not have gone anywhere near drawing down what they have been allocated for Traveller accommodation.

On CEOs of local authorities using emergency powers to provide accommodation for Travellers, how often have those powers been used? I know of one example in County Clare where a CEO correctly used emergency powers for this in 2004. I have not seen any example of that since. Why are local authority CEOs not being pressurised by the Department to use the emergency powers under the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 to provide the necessary accommodation under their Traveller accommodation programmes? I find it astonishing. It is an emergency and we do not have time. Travellers are living in appalling conditions and they are becoming extraordinarily frustrated. Children are growing up in diabolical conditions. An increase of €1.5 million is welcome but the Minister of State must be frustrated that local authorities not living up to their responsibilities in providing accommodation and drawing down the funding provided by Government year in, year out.