Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 12 October 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Expert Group Review of Traveller Accommodation: Discussion

Mr. Eugene Cummins:

The accumulation of scrap or rubbish on any individual's property is an unauthorised activity and should not be done. We have caretakers on the site who keep an eye on that.

On Part 8, the design of any scheme involves full consultation with the residents and there would be a lot of toing and froing with them. I again repeat that the recommendations of the report are being progressed through the programme board with the Department, the CCMA and Traveller groups.

On the preferences of the younger generation, it appears it is not that interested in transient sites. That is based on analysis of data we collected in local authorities during the Traveller accommodation programme when we looked for information on it. To be quite clear, our priority is housing. It is the same as what we do for homelessness, which is housing first. That is our priority. I stated early in the document that we are looking forward to an all-Ireland approach to transient sites, if they are needed. Certainly, we know in County Cork, for instance, there is no interest among the Traveller community in a site. That does not mean, if this is something that analysis will show is required in a particular county, it will not be progressed. To be very clear, for everyone on our housing list, permanent housing is the preferred option. It is housing first, without question. There is no hidden agenda or secret there. That is what we want to do and that is what we are working towards. Do Mr. Manning or Ms Keenan want to add to that?

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