Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for being with us today and for giving us their thoughts. My first question is for Mr. Cummins. He made a point earlier about Traveller accommodation being a complex issue. It is a complex issue and I would not deny that for one minute. The local authorities are ultimately responsible. I was a member of Cork City Council for 12 years. We had a number of issues with halting sites and the provision of Traveller accommodation. If the city managers or chief executives of local authorities are not being supported by the Government in addressing these issues, they must call that out or accept responsibility. I do not accept chief executives or local authorities saying they cannot sort out this issue. It is their job to sort it out. These problems have been experienced in my constituency for more than 30 years. If the local authorities are not being supported by whatever Government is in office, and I am not taking a shot at any political parties in saying this, and if this is a complicated issue, then the local authorities must either accept responsibility or call out the lack of support where it exists. I will come back in again with more questions, if I have time remaining.