Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I have a few questions. Recourse to the courts should be a last resort, and in an ideal world, nobody would have to have recourse to the courts because the services would be provided. In the case of discrimination by private entities, there is little that can be done except through the courts. If the law were adequate, would we be able to resolve a lot of discrimination or the lack of performance by local authorities or other State agencies through having more enforceable law and a faster, more efficient Ombudsman service? In other words, lawyers would not have to take the case and get involved in litigation and somebody such as the Ombudsman could look at the case and say it is clearly outside what is permitted. I have used the Ombudsman previously in respect of caravan loans and so on. Unfortunately, however, the law could be a lot stronger. I am interested in hearing whether there are quicker ways of ensuring justice. The main focus of this meeting was accommodation, which, in a large number of cases, is provided by the local authorities. Should there be a quicker and less personal way to access the law and make sure it stands by people?

The second obvious issue is that we should recommend that the legal aid board of the Traveller legal support service be funded and resourced. I think we would all be on board with that.

We have had a lot of discussion about the caravan loan scheme and it is a bit scary that we all agree. There should be full funding of the scheme and it should be on a positive basis, that is, we should identify the full need and fund it now. It should be new caravans only and they should be of high quality and for permanent living. The loan sum should involve standard repayment and so on. I think we are there, but we need to get the Government to introduce a scheme such as that and just do it. It should not take long. It is within the competence of the Government.

The witnesses talked about the planning process and I think we all agree that, unfortunately, Part 8 is not working. I say "unfortunately" because I am always reluctant to take powers away from the elected representatives of the people but it is not working and, as a public representative, I would be the first to accept that. What legal process would replace it? Is it one that would go straight to An Bord Pleanála or what kind of process are we talking about? It is important the public have their say, but the law has to clearly state that Travellers have to get suitable accommodation and that that cannot be in question. In general, people should have their say, and I doubt whether a system that did not allow for some type of representation would stand.

On the constitutional right to housing, I often worry these issues can confine more than they achieve, because it is short of resources. I would like to see the wording but I think it would be difficult for it to be strong enough while, on the other hand, being able to withstand a downturn in the economy. I am talking about a general right to housing for every citizen. I think it would be tricky to right that into the Constitution, so I would be interested to see the wording. In the meantime, something else could be really effective. I am always looking for things that give you a fast bang for your buck. We have all these committees and we have set up the Traveller accommodation programme, TAP, but then the targets are missed, everyone shrugs their shoulders and there are a million excuses. We need to have some sanctions if the legal obligation to produce and deliver on the TAP is not adhered to. The great advantage is that the individual would not have to take the case but rather the system could do so on behalf of all the individuals.

I recall that Irish language speakers, of whom I am one, were routinely discriminated against, even though Irish is officially the first official language of the State and has huge constitutional status, which just shows that does not give you everything. That is why we set up the Irish language commissioner, such that if a clear provision is broken, all you have to do is contact the commissioner and sit back. It was to take away the necessity to go to court. Most of us, even those with access to reasonable resources and so on, would always put a court case as the last course of action, especially if it is going to take two or three years and so on to achieve a result. Therefore, the first port of call is to try to eliminate the organisations’ backlog by doing what should be done, namely, providing suitable accommodation. The witnesses spoke about standards of accommodation, and I take it that is for Traveller-specific accommodation because normal accommodation has standards in any event, so that must relate to caravans. We would have to be careful, however, that we did not say caravans or trailers, which I think is the correct term, were themselves inadequate if they reflect the preference of the Traveller community. We would have to have standards that would encompass the wishes of the Traveller community as to what standards they would like to see in that regard.

On the local connection issue, is that legal under European law regarding the right to move and live anywhere you want? This goes as much for the settled community as it does for the Traveller community. We hear all the time that people move from County Mayo to County Galway or even from Galway city to Galway county, and we have to deal with two local authorities and so on. Is this in line with the right to settle anywhere in the European Union? This affects Travellers, in particular, because they tend to be mobile.

I think I have probably asked enough questions. If I think of any more, I will come back in.