Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 7 December 2023

Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community

Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (Resumed)

Ms Breda O'Donoghue:

I will come in on the caravan loan scheme. Both organisations have discussed this. We are caught between a rock and a hard place in that we do not want the scheme. We think it is discriminating against families. There are families in dire need, however. Let us be honest: nobody wants to take out a €40,000 loan to accommodate themselves. I believe it should be scrapped and we should look at a rental scheme. That would be my first impression of it. It is not working and there are not enough loans to meet the need anyway even if it was working. Therefore, rather than a review, I would like to see it just scrapped and for us to relook at another option.