Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. When was Cena established? I had a look at the summary map and there are approximately nine areas where Traveller housing is being built by Cena. I acknowledge the definition of Cena and that it is as an AHB. It is great that it is engaging and working with Travellers on the work that needs to be done.

There is a problem regarding Traveller accommodation and the local authorities. I will give an example. The Traveller site in St. Mary's Park, Dunsink Lane is administered by Dublin City Council, but a portion of the land is in the Fingal area. There is a proposal to construct two additional houses on the site but my understanding is the Traveller section of Dublin City Council is struggling to get Fingal County Council to agree to the provision of the land to build those houses, which is ridiculous because nothing has been built on it for years despite the population growth in that area. St. Joseph's Park is also administered by Dublin City Council, but it is located in Fingal. I would like to hear about the relationship between Cena and the local authorities and if Cena encounters problems in its engagement with them.

Mental health is a big issue among the Traveller community, unfortunately. Does Cena have any role in that regard? Unemployment is also a big issue and, as in all communities, education and trying to bring people on to higher education is a major issue. What progress is being made on Traveller education? There has been a little progress, but it appears to be a struggle all of the time.

The Simon Communities are doing a good job in dealing with homelessness and accommodation. Increasingly, people from the Traveller community are entering homeless accommodation, following which they are housed under HAP. This is breaking up the Traveller community. I find it very frustrating that we are not building enough. The local authorities have been condemned for their lack of use of the funding that is being made available to them. We need to push for more accommodation. I would like to hear a little more in that regard.