Ms AnnMarie Farrelly:

I am a member of the CCMA's committee on housing, building and land use, and I am also chief executive of Fingal County Council. I was recently appointed to the National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee, NTACC. I am accompanied here today by my colleague Ms Sinead Carr, director of services in Tipperary County Council.

On behalf of the CCMA, we welcome the opportunity to attend the meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Key Issues Affecting the Traveller Community. The CCMA welcomes the review of recommendations in the final report of the previous committee and recognises that Traveller accommodation is a priority that needs to be addressed. The CCMA is represented on a number of relevant groups, namely the Traveller expert review group programme board, the design and development of Traveller-specific accommodation advisory group, the national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy steering group and the NTACC. The CCMA is committed to ensuring the recommendations in the report produced by the Traveller expert review group programme board are prioritised and, through the board, delivered.

Local authorities are governed by the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 and have general responsibility for the provision of housing for adults who cannot afford to provide it for themselves, including the provision of Traveller accommodation at local level. The CCMA fully supports the implementation of Traveller accommodation programmes, which are prepared, adopted and implemented by local authorities.

Local authorities, as housing authorities, provide a range of homes and supports to those with a housing need, including Traveller-specific accommodation. Local authorities work in partnership with approved housing bodies, the charity sector and other stakeholders to assist Traveller families to ensure their accommodation needs are met via standard social housing, group housing and halting sites, or indeed accommodation provided through subsidisation via the housing assistance payment, HAP, or the rental accommodation scheme.

Our housing teams include dedicated staff members who support members of the Traveller community – for example, social workers and Traveller liaison officers. Thirty-nine social workers and 18 Traveller liaison officer posts are funded through the Department. In addition, many local authorities provide pre-tenancy training to families who have received a placement, with subsequent tenancy sustainment supports such as a community sustainment officer or Traveller liaison officer to support the transition into the new home and the provision of other well-being supports.

Local authority Traveller accommodation programmes provide for the development of new Traveller-specific accommodation and the management and maintenance of existing accommodation, as well as dealing with vacancy and dereliction with the aim of maximising use of existing resources.

Local authorities managed expenditure of almost €27 million for Traveller-specific accommodation in 2022. That expenditure was funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The works related to €20.6 million in capital investment and €6.3 million for upgrades to existing sites.

The experience of local authorities is that most applicants for social housing from the Travelling community apply for standard social housing and do not request Traveller-appropriate accommodation. However, local authorities proactively engage with local Traveller communities and their representatives to understand the accommodation preferences and to plan Traveller-specific accommodation for their areas. Offers of social housing support will include all available options and, where possible, the preferred type of accommodation. There can be difficulties concerning the level of vacancy in existing accommodation and in reaching agreement for re-lets, which can cause delays in meeting accommodation needs. Accommodation in urban settings – often the preferred location of applicants – is generally unsuitable for the keeping of animals. Tenancy sustainment supports are provided for new tenancies, and this is helpful. Local authorities also strongly support the recommendation to expand the caretaker role for Traveller-specific accommodation. This would help improve estate management and lead to an enhanced regime for the management and maintenance of sites.

Access to the private rental market is difficult for all at present. The number of available rental properties has reduced and rents have increased. There is an under-supply of properties for larger family sizes, which has a more acute impact on the Traveller community. There is also some evidence of failed tenancies leading to homelessness. Local authorities use all measures available to assist households seeking private rented accommodation, including the provision of homeless HAP Place Finder support and the use of the differential rent hardship clause, where appropriate. More recently, the tenantin situscheme has been used successfully to prevent homelessness. Taskforces have been established in some regions between local authorities and Departments to address Traveller homelessness.

Local authority staff work hard to maintain supports to all sites, and it is essential that on-site estate management be delivered without challenge. This is not always possible, and staff welfare and safety has been compromised at times. It is also the case that contractors have had to withdraw from sites, which has caused a significant delay to planned works. This is not sustainable, and it is to the detriment of vulnerable residents when sites cannot be adequately maintained because of these issues. Resources are wasted resolving these issues. Those resources would be better used for improved estate management.

The CCMA welcomes audits of mobile homes or caravans in all Traveller-specific accommodation and halting sites. This is an area of considerable focus for local authorities and was particularly successful during the Covid pandemic.

Annual fire safety inspections are carried out on sites, and ad hocreferrals to the fire service take place if issues arise. Local authorities issue quarterly updates to the local Traveller accommodation consultative committees and report annually to the NTACC.

The CCMA welcomes the national caravan loans scheme, which has been in place since 2021. The scheme aims to provide loans to the Travelling community to purchase mobile homes as their primary place of residence. The scheme has been successful in some areas. For example, 17 loans were drawn down in South Dublin County Council to the total value of €580,000. There has been a positive response from applicants regarding the application process. Other benefits are the immediate approval and draw-down of funding from the Department and applicants sourcing their own mobile homes.

We have highlighted that the maximum limit of €40,000 is not enough to cover the purchase of a caravan for larger families, including the installation costs that are likely to occur. Fire-safety works and civil works can cost up to €10,000 per caravan. The CCMA would welcome a review of the funding and the possibility of a budget, provided by the Traveller accommodation unit, to carry out necessary repairs to caravans.

Consideration is required regarding operation and maintenance for the establishment of a national network of transient sites, and this may necessitate the introduction of a national body to manage sites. Feedback given to the four Dublin local authorities from the local Traveller population is that there is no appetite for transient sites in the Dublin area. The CCMA's priority is to provide suitable permanent accommodation in the first instance.

The welfare and well-being of the Traveller community is a high priority for local authorities. I shall set out examples of local authority initiatives supporting the needs of travellers. Tipperary County Council, in conjunction with agencies, NGOs and members of the community, commenced a process to support a Traveller educational initiative over a sustained five-year period as a pilot in a specific educational catchment area. The decision to lead on this project is based on the premise that the provision of Traveller accommodation on its own does not sufficiently address the significant number of challenges faced by the community and their subsequent impacts on accessing and managing accommodation. A five-year action plan, focusing on preschool, primary school and post-primary school, has been developed and signed off.

A number of initiatives are under way, including the provision of a designated space to provide educational and homework support for primary and secondary school children.

Galway City Council, through a collaborative multi-agency approach, working with the Galway Traveller Movement, the local Traveller accommodation consultative committee and subgroups to address issues on Traveller welfare and well-being, has carried out the following actions: an assessment of equality and human rights issues faced by Travellers relevant for the mid-term review of the Galway City Council Traveller accommodation programme; implementing recommendation actions to the council from the 2021 Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission equality review; refurbishment of the existing Circular Road halting site; making Traveller sites more child friendly; and ensuring two playgrounds have been installed or are in the process of being installed.

In Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, an initiative funded by the dormant accounts fund is being run. There are focus groups on the following themes: tracking the experience of the Traveller community in accessing private rented accommodation; establishing processes for Traveller tenant participation in estate management; analysing the root causes of high maintenance costs in Traveller-specific accommodation; the installation of a safe play area for children on one site, with another ongoing; a pilot project to allow tenants keys to barriers on halting sites; a tidy site award and the creation of attractive entrances to sites; and a focus group on Traveller women’s health and well-being.

The CCMA will continue to work closely with the Traveller expert review group programme board to prioritise implementation of the recommendations. In addition, the housing, building and land use committee of the CCMA will continue to focus on key issues affecting the Traveller community and ensure good practice is implemented across local authority areas. Local authorities managed expenditure of almost €27 million for Traveller-specific accommodation in 2022. While it is acknowledged that there are notable challenges in the delivery of accommodation, local authorities continue to work in partnership with stakeholders to assist Traveller families to ensure accommodation needs are met. The CCMA supports a definition of culturally appropriate accommodation to provide clarity for all stakeholders involved. We strongly support the recommendation to expand the caretaker role for Traveller-specific accommodation. We welcome the continued collaboration with the Department and continue to engage with the many stakeholders in the Traveller accommodation area.