Ms Sinéad Carr:

I will reply and anybody that wants to come in thereafter can do. Regarding the expenditure maintenance, as anybody who deals with halting site group scheme maintenance knows, it is the most resource-intensive element of overall Travel accommodation. It certainly needs a significant amount of supports. My understanding is that with the caretakers - and we certainly will need caretakers with respect to those facilities - 75% of that is covered by the Department and the remainder is covered by councils. On the maintenance side, it is 50%. Is it sufficient? I will be honest, we could certainly do with further funding in that area. It is particularly resource intensive.

In my own county, and I can only speak on my own county, I would say the most marginalised of our Traveller community are in either the group housing or the halting sites. We have 478 families in total in County Tipperary, and the vast majority of those we do not have any significant issues with, they get on with their lives and do what they have to do but those on the halting sites or in the group housing are the ones that need the most resources. In terms of the concept for the group housing scheme and whether that is lengthier if it is part of an overall housing process, to my own mind, it should not be any lengthier to be honest; it is still bricks and mortar. However, I would say, with either halting sites or in group housing, there is a huge lead-up when engaging on a one-on-one basis with Traveller families as to what their needs are. For instance, to give an example, if I had a settlement and I was organising a standard social housing scheme that involved one, two, three and four-bedroom homes for that particular area, I would know who is on my housing waiting list, meaning I could design my social housing, put it up, and then allocate it. It is very different when one is dealing with Traveller-appropriate accommodation, engaging one on one with the families and trying to get agreement with them about what their needs are and how housing will work. That can take a particularly lengthy period of time and by the time one gets that agreement done, they have to go into the planning process, the procurement and tendering processes, and then they have to go through the funding agreement. That could take all of a year and a half, and by the time they come out the other end, the family may feel their needs have changed. One may then have to go back through the process again. That element is particularly difficult, and is something that could be looked at.

On the funding for the current expenditure, social workers are absolutely critical in dealing with some members. While not all members of the Traveller community members require social work support, those who do require significant support. At the moment, that funding stream is 90% from the Department, and 10% from the local authority. Social workers who engage with members of the Traveller community where needed are critical.

Finally, as to the loan scheme for caravans, there are pluses and minuses there. I will hand over either to my colleagues from Limerick or Dublin who might wish to comment.