Ms Bridget Kelly:

On behalf of the National Traveller Women's Forum, I thank the committee for giving us the opportunity to speak here today. I am a community development worker with the National Traveller Women's Forum, which is a national organisation made up of Traveller women and Traveller women's organisations throughout Ireland. The National Traveller Women's Forum works from a human rights-based approach. Our aim is to strive for full equality for Traveller women and for all.

Accommodation has always been a key issue for Travellers. Poor accommodation impacts on every aspect of Traveller women's lives and the lives of our families, namely, our health, education, employment, mental health and opportunities for inclusion in society. Since the publication of the Final Report of the Joint Committee on Key Issues Affecting the Traveller Community in 2021 there has been very little progress in this area. Consistent failure to deliver targets for culturally appropriate accommodation under Traveller accommodation plans continues to be a serious issue, leading to serious overcrowding, hidden homelessness and families being left to live in Third World living conditions. Mirroring broader trends in the non-delivery of social housing, the increasing policy has been for the market to provide solutions to accommodation issues through the housing assistance payment for the private rented market. However, Travellers, particularly in smaller towns, face huge problems on the basis of their identity, including racism and discrimination by some landlords in trying to access private rented accommodation. Many Travellers are having to sublet and take substandard accommodation in desperation. All these factors contribute to the over-representation of Travellers in homelessness figures and increasing hidden homeless among the community. We also see Traveller families staying in homeless services a lot longer than settled people because of the difficulty in getting private rented accommodation and the lack of Traveller-specific accommodation available for families to exit homeless services.

In the programme board update published in April 2023, the expert group noted progress in relation to ethnic identifiers for Traveller households, increased engagement with the Central Statistics Office and changes to the social housing needs assessment process. Progress was also noted in communicating with directors of service in local authorities to use their emergency powers to bypass problems with decision-making by elected members regarding Traveller accommodation and the inclusion of Traveller accommodation in local development plans, as well as a review of funding allocations from the Department in respect of Traveller accommodation. These are all very welcome, however there are fundamental actions that have yet to be progressed.

The caravan loan scheme is a national pilot scheme that was initiated in 2021 and 2022 and rolled out in five different areas - Kildare, Cork, Limerick and in the south and east of Dublin. For some reason, Kildare has withdrawn from the pilot scheme. Some issues arose in that regard. There were four pilot areas then. The caravan loan pilot scheme was very much welcomed but as time went on issues emerged. The pilot scheme has now been rolled out nationally to 2024 with an allocation of 80 loans costing €3.2 million. The scheme discriminated against Travellers in its design. People are being asked to take out loans, who are already on local authority waiting lists. A rental scheme could have been a better option, not least as it allows for a higher specification of unit and longer term value, centralised purchase by the local authority, and funded by the Department, with a broader scope for Travellers.

Another issue that arose with the caravan loan scheme was the cost of mobile homes. The cost of mobile homes has increased. Another issue was the quality of mobile homes. Pro ratato the loan on offer, €40,000 was not enough to purchase a standard mobile home. Some suppliers increase the price when they discover that the State is paying for a mobile home. This is a big issue that we have noticed, and it is not helping the families who are trying to purchase mobile homes.

Why did the loan scheme, as a lesser alternative, supplant the rental scheme in some areas where it was operational, for example in Dublin and Limerick? There were also concerns at local level with the roll-out and mismatches between demand and supply. In some areas there was a high demand from applicants looking for the caravan loan scheme. For example, in some local authorities there were 25 applications but only two allocations of a loan. This is of huge concern. The national Traveller representatives on the Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee, LTACC, have flagged this, along with all the local Traveller projects as well, so it is an issue, in addition to all the other concerns in relation to the caravan loan scheme.

The Traveller organisations have called for an independent review of the caravan loan scheme. The National Traveller Women's Forum believes that the following areas need to be prioritised nationally. Changes are needed in the area of planning and while those changes are put in place, the decision-making on the Part 8 function could switch to an executive function for a temporary period. It is conclusive in the expert review report and the experience of national Traveller organisations that the key component missing in the Government's approach to tackling the Traveller accommodation crisis is an independent authority to oversee delivery.

Repeal of the trespass legislation is needed to ensure the reversal of the erosion of Traveller nomadism. While awaiting the review of this legislation, we call for a moratorium on evictions until the accommodation needs of Travellers have been met.

Implementation of the expert review group's 32 recommendations with no objections or amendments is crucial to ensure adequate supply and standard of culturally appropriate accommodation for Travellers.

Clear timelines, a budget for implementation and tangible targets with corresponding accountability measures along with strong Traveller engagement at all levels will be essential for delivery. Racism, discrimination and bias among elected representatives must be challenged and sanctions imposed on local authorities who do not meet their targets.

I am happy to take questions and give answers later.