Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Micheál D. Ó hUiginn as ucht an ábhair tábhachtaigh seo a thabhairt ós comhair na Dála. Is oth leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Nollaig Ó hEachthairn, nach feidir leis bheith anseo mar tá sé ar ghnó eile.

In recent days we have heard a great deal about Traveller halting sites. I express my sincere sympathy to the family of the two McGinley children who died so tragically during the week. It is right that the circumstances of their deaths are being fully investigated.

Before dealing with the Carrowbrowne project I must emphasise that, through their Traveller accommodation programmes prepared in accordance with section 7 of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, the provision, management and maintenance of Traveller accommodation is the responsibility of local authorities. The Department's role is to provide the necessary funding to meet the cost of the provision and refurbishment of Traveller specific accommodation. The full cost of such work is provided to local authorities by way of capital grant. Over the past five years a total of €130 million was expended in this area. This has resulted in the 389 new permanent units of Traveller specific accommodation and the refurbishment of 346 such units.

While these developments are welcome, the need to make further progress in this area is acknowledged. The development by local authorities of their Traveller accommodation programmes for the period 2005 to 2008 and the targets they contain will facilitate these efforts. Despite this increased investment, the conditions on existing halting sites which have not yet been refurbished to modern standards is a cause for concern. In these cases, the effects of their site environment on the health of Travellers is a subject which has been raised in the context of the Traveller health strategy and it is proposed that the issue will be examined jointly by the national Traveller health and accommodation consultative committees over the coming months.

In the context of the difficulties and the extra cost experienced by local authorities in the management and maintenance of Traveller specific accommodation, the Department defrays some of the ongoing management and maintenance costs incurred by authorities in this area. Since 2000 in excess of €14 million has been provided to authorities for this purpose. The Department is also examining the issue of guidelines for local authorities for the management and maintenance of Traveller specific accommodation.

The Department is concerned to ensure that the refurbishment of the Carrowbrowne site should proceed as soon as possible.

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