Mr. Paul Benson:

I thank the Vice Chairman and the members for the opportunity to address the Joint Committee on Key Issues Affecting the Traveller Community. I am a principal officer in the Traveller accommodation unit in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I am joined by my colleague, Mr. Eamonn Waters, principal officer in the homelessness unit in the Department. I am grateful for the opportunity to talk about this important issue today. Addressing Traveller accommodation issues and Traveller homelessness is a priority for the Department.

There is no doubt that delivery on Traveller-specific accommodation has been disappointing in recent years and this is reflected in the levels of funding drawn down. I am pleased to report, however, that local authorities made full use of the €14.5 million which was available for Traveller-specific accommodation in 2020 and it is hoped and we are confident that this will be repeated with the €15.5 million budget for 2021.

It is important to note that accommodation for Traveller households is provided across a range of housing options. The majority of Travellers live in standard housing, including local authority and approved housing body accommodation and housing assistance payment, HAP, and rental accommodation scheme, RAS, supported tenancies in the private rented sector. Funding for these housing supports is provided through various budget lines. The Traveller accommodation unit’s budget is provided solely for Traveller-specific accommodation, such as halting sites and group housing schemes. Accordingly, funding available for and spent on the provision of accommodation solutions for Travellers is much broader than the often reported spend under the Traveller-specific accommodation budget. The Department continues to work with all our stakeholders to improve the delivery and standard of all types of Traveller accommodation and this will continue.

The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 provides that local authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller accommodation programmes in their areas in order to meet the identified accommodation need. The Department's role is to ensure there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist the local authorities and approved housing bodies in providing such accommodation, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding. It is a matter for each local authority to set targets for the provision of Traveller accommodation, which they outline in their Traveller accommodation programmes. These programmes provide a roadmap for local authority investment priorities over the period and form the basis for the allocation of funding from the Department for Traveller accommodation. Current Traveller accommodation plans run for the period from June 2019 until June 2024.

I will briefly address the annual local authority estimate of Traveller households. Each year, local authorities carry out an annual count or estimate, as it is known, within their functional area. Normally, it is carried out in November. In 2020, it was carried out in December. The 2020 count indicated there were 10,809 Traveller households in the State, 78% of which are in standard accommodation and 22% of which are in Traveller-specific accommodation. Of the 78% in standard accommodation, 45% are either in local authority or approved housing body, AHB, tenancies in standard local authority or AHB-approved accommodation. Of those, 18% are in supported tenancies in the private rental sector, mostly through the HAP and RAS, with 9% in shared housing and 6% in accommodation provided by Travellers from their own resources. Of the 22% of households in Traveller-specific accommodation, the count estimates 8% are within group housing schemes, 9% on authorised halting sites and 5% on unauthorised halting sites.

The Traveller accommodation expert group was established in 2018 to review the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 and other legislation impacting on the provision and delivery of accommodation for Travellers. It presented its report in July 2019. The report sets out an integrated set of recommendations intended to improve the effectiveness of the arrangements for providing accommodation for members of the Traveller community. These recommendations address four key themes, namely, delivery reflecting need, planning, capacity and resources and governance. A programme board was established to oversee the implementation of recommendations of the expert group and a work programme for 2021 has been put in place, covering 18 of the 32 recommendations.

The programme board met for the first time in March and has met four times since. It will meet again in October. It includes two representatives from Traveller organisations, two County and City Management Association representatives and two representatives from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and is chaired by the chair of the national Traveller accommodation consultative committee, NTACC. The Minister attends quarterly meetings of the programme board to hear updates on progress and the board also updates the NTACC on progress.

Some of the recommendations which have been advanced to completion or are currently being advanced are on the funding allocation system, which was overhauled in 2020. To facilitate ease of access to funding the Department ceased allocating specific budgets to individual local authorities. Instead, it is open to all local authorities to apply for and draw down funds at any time throughout the year and this is actively encouraged by the Department.

The Department has also worked with the Central Statistics Office, CSO, in relation to the upcoming census to ensure that all Travellers are facilitated to participate in census 2022.

The Department has also been working on a recommendation to have a Traveller identifier on the social housing support application form. Significant progress has been made on this and it will allow for evidenced-based planning for Traveller accommodation and will support the Traveller accommodation programmes, TAPs. We expect that social housing support application form will be modified this year to amend regulations. It should make a big difference to the management of data.

On the management and maintenance of Traveller-specific accommodation, the Department funds local authorities for that, or makes a contribution. That contribution was increased by 50% earlier this year by the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke.

Research is being commissioned to consider the design and long-term maintenance of Traveller-specific accommodation. This will involve wide stakeholder engagement and consultation and ultimately result in updated guidance for local authorities and approved housing bodies in the design of Traveller-specific accommodation.

Transient sites are an important part of the ambition of the Traveller accommodation plan. As part of the work of the programme board, the Department will explore the provision of an all-island approach to the provision of a network of transient sites across the island of Ireland. Discussions in this regard have begun with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

With regard to reporting on the provision of new Traveller-specific accommodation, delivery of new Traveller-specific accommodation such as permanent halting sites and group housing schemes will be tracked under Housing for All and reported in progress reports against the 50,000 new-build social housing targets envisaged under that plan.

The independent review of the role of social workers and personnel employed by local authorities specifically to assist Travellers with their accommodation needs is an important piece of work that was recently completed. It was carried out to ensure services relating to Traveller accommodation needs adapt and remain relevant. The Department commissioned research into the role of social workers and personnel employed by local authorities to assist Travellers with their accommodation needs. Since the mid-1960s, local authorities have employed social workers to support Travellers in meeting their accommodation needs. Since then, the nature and scale of the demands on local authority housing departments have changed and local authorities have taken on new housing responsibilities. The Department is liaising with the CCMA on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report.

The pilot caravan loan scheme is an initiative which has been undertaken to ensure Traveller households have access to good-quality caravan or trailer accommodation. The Department has, following an extensive consultation with stakeholders and approval from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, rolled out a six-month pilot preferential loan scheme in four local authority areas. Following a review of the pilot, which it is hoped will be successful, the intention is to roll it out nationally during 2022, incorporating whatever changes are deemed necessary arising from the review of the pilot. In the Department's view, the scheme has the potential to significantly improve living conditions for Traveller families and comfort levels within caravans and trailers. It will be fully supported by the Department.

My colleague, Mr. Eamonn Waters from the homelessness division, will conclude the opening statement and speak about Traveller homelessness.