Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

When we speak to people like Mr. O'Sullivan, Ms Carmody, Ms Kelly and Ms O'Donoghue, we hear about people waiting on the TAP for decades. It is still as if we are in a worse place to what we were when we started and when the Act around Traveller accommodation was put together. That is absolutely heartbreaking for the community as a whole. Accommodation is everything. Accommodation is your education, health, well-being, etc.

I have a few remarks and questions. What really strikes me about Spring Lane and Cork is the No End in Sight report. That got absolutely amazing coverage all over the media. It spoke about the poor Traveller children and how to proceed, but what about the recommendations? What were the implementations? What was implemented from it? Do the witnesses know what was implemented from the ombudsman's recommendations around Spring Lane?

Ms Kelly spoke about the review of the Traveller trailer scheme. I do not know any Traveller who calls it a caravan. We call them trailers. We are seeking to change that word to trailers because it is important. Why should we have to change our slang or language because it looks better on paper? We know the Traveller trailer scheme is not working. What is the purpose of doing the review? Would that again kick the can down the road? That is one of my questions to the witnesses along with that on the No End in Sight report.

I will mention the living conditions on one of the halting sites in Cork. We are not allowed to name it because it was not named in the report, but we all know the site. A child fell and ended up in the local hospital with an infection in his skin. Yesterday, at the Joint Committee on Disability Matters at which we discussed housing and so forth, I spoke about how this is not just a person's house; it is his or her environment as well. It is the environment in which a person is living. It is about those recommendations. Mr. O'Sullivan gave us some ideas on Travellers themselves through NGOs and a review of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, which is really important. I thank him for that. Do the witnesses have any final comments? They might answer those two questions I put to them about the review of the caravan loan scheme and the No End in Sight report.