Professor Michelle Norris:

I thank members for their valuable contributions which we will take on board. We are cognisant of their role and experience as public representatives in dealing with these issues on the ground and the valuable insights they can bring to the process.

They are correct on variable output. The latest figures supplied to us by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government indicate 67% of the total budget for Traveller accommodation over the past ten years has been drawn down. The drawdown levels are variable. Some local authorities have drawn down almost all the moneys made available while others have a zero drawdown rate. Senator Kelleher mentioned that in the past year, nine local authorities have drawn down no funding whatsoever, despite the fact that the Traveller population out of accommodation in some of these local authorities is high. The nine in question are Laois, Mayo, Monaghan, Westmeath, Longford, Wexford, Kildare, Galway and South Dublin County Council.

The issue of Traveller accommodation provision is solvable considering the small size of the Traveller population compared to the national population. That is a starting point from which we need to work. The policy and funding nationally has improved, been honed and reformed much over the past 20 years. The issue is with the implementation of the policy, particularly the differences between various local authorities. As part of our work, we have started to review the extensive volume of evidence collated on Traveller accommodation by the Department and the different Traveller bodies. There is much research on Traveller issues and there is ample evidence of what the problems are. It is an issue of collating the evidence, consulting with people and trying to identify solutions, particularly around the implementation side.

I acknowledge the points raised by the Chairman around trying to balance achieving output on the one hand, in many cases against opposition from local politicians and local communities, and bringing communities and local politicians around. The system of LTACCs, set up following the recommendation of the task force on the Traveller community, has worked well in some areas but not in others. There is learning we can bring from the areas where it has worked well. That is a point we will examine.

In the local authorities where it has not worked, there is no doubt that needs to be some intervention at this stage. Deputy Ó Broin mentioned the idea of a national body. That has been recommended in policy since the 1980s but not acted on. The challenge one faces is the particular local issues which operate regarding Traveller accommodation and the level of consultation with local communities. The other side of this is that if we continue to work with the situation where there is such under-delivery and uneven delivery around the country, the problem will never be resolved. In some ways, it creates additional problems for the local authorities that are meeting their responsibilities. It is unfair treatment of the local authorities that are meeting their responsibilities while other local authorities are getting away with the problem. Solutions such as sanctions are some of the issues we will examine.

There is also the issue of centralisation of the function. Although, in view of the fact there has been success in some areas and the importance of local consultation, that would have to be a last resort recommendation.

Some of the other points raised relate to the need for leadership from local authorities and elected Members in particular, which I acknowledge.

I will flag some other issues members did not raise in their comments that we plan to look at. Local authorities are not the sole providers of social housing so we will definitely examine the role of AHBs, which have been the major source of social housing supply since the economic crisis in the late 2000s. We will examine the potential role of AHBs in social housing supply, including speaking to a Traveller-specific AHB. We will also examine the increased number of Travellers in accommodation in the private sector. There are barriers to Travellers accessing private accommodation that we plan to look at. The research commissioned by the Housing Agency shows that in many cases, Travellers are pushed into private accommodation against their will and actually seek social housing but in other cases, Travellers have a preference for private accommodation. If they want to do so, they should be facilitated and barriers should be removed.