Ms Bridget Kelly:

Following on from the point about maintenance, it is something that arises in sites. We have noticed how some families have to wait months, and even years like John said, to get some of the repairs or maintenance issues sorted. That is a big issue for our Traveller families. Some sites have caretakers who take up the responsibilities of their roles but in other areas the caretakers there are not fulfilling their responsibilities. That is also an issue across the board. If there are maintenance issues on a site, as John said, the local authorities have to go to tender. They say is will cost a certain amount and it must apply for funding even though there is a Traveller accommodation budget there, they seem to draw it out. It is the families living on the sites with maintenance issues who I feel sorry for. They might be problems with heating or hot water. One particular family I have worked with in the past had to wait a year for the shower to be fixed and have the hot water restored. It is a big issue for the community and something that needs to be resolved.