Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome everyone to our meeting this afternoon. Apologies have been received from Senator Eileen Flynn.

The Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl, and the Cathaoirleach, Senator Mark Daly, have appealed to everybody in the parliamentary community to continue to follow public health advice, wear masks and maintain social distancing. I request that members, witnesses and staff use the wipes and hand sanitisers provided to clean shared seats and desks to supplement regular sanitation. This will help mitigate the risk of Covid-19, including the Delta variant, spreading among the parliamentary community.

Members and all in attendance are asked to exercise personal responsibility in protecting themselves and others from the risk of contracting Covid-19. They are strongly advised to practise good hand hygiene and they will notice that every second seat has been removed to facilitate social distancing. I urge them not to move any chair from its current position. They should also always maintain an appropriate level of social distance during and after the meeting. Masks, preferably of medical grade, should always be worn during the meeting except when members are speaking. I ask them for their full co-operation on this.

Before we hear from our witnesses, we have some business to attend to regarding the rules around privilege. I remind members that they must be in the Leinster House complex in order to attend this meeting. If any member attempts to participate from outside Leinster House, I will ask him or her to leave the meeting. I remind witnesses that as they are giving their evidence from outside Leinster House, they may not have the same privilege as if they were in Leinster House. They may think it is appropriate to take legal advice on this matter. They are again reminded that they should not criticise or make charges against any person or damage the good name of any person. If I indicate that I believe a witness is breaking this rule, he or she must stop.

The first business is the approval of the minutes of the committee meetings held on 23 September 2021. These minutes have been approved in the virtual private session but this must be done again in public session for procedural reasons. Can I take it that the minutes of the meetings on 23 September are agreed to? Agreed.

Before we hear from our witnesses, I suggest that we publish the opening statements. Is it agreed to publish the opening statements from Cena Culturally Appropriate Homes and Simon Communities of Ireland on the committee website? Agreed.

This is our sixth public meeting on access to housing accommodation, including Traveller-specific and culturally appropriate accommodation. The committee looks forward to continuing a debate on the issues surrounding Traveller housing and accommodation. The conversation around housing and accommodation, especially culturally appropriate and Traveller-specific accommodation is a very important one and is one of the key issues affecting the Traveller community. The ability to access housing and accommodation, facilities and services within culturally appropriate accommodation and the high levels of homelessness within the Traveller communities are topics we will discuss with representatives from Cena Culturally Appropriate Homes and Simon Communities of Ireland. The committee looks forward to continuing this important debate with our guests on this subject and to a wider discussion around these issues. Arising from all of these proceedings, we will prepare a report and publish recommendations. On behalf of the committee I am delighted to extend a warm welcome to our witnesses. I welcome Mr. Brian Dillon, project development officer and Ms Bridgie Casey, home acquisition manager, Cena Culturally Appropriate Homes; and Mr. Wayne Stanley, head of policy and communications, and Ms Andrea Fitzgerald, service manager, Galway Simon Community, from the Simon Communities of Ireland.

I ask Mr. Dillon and Ms Casey now to make their opening statements of five to ten minutes.