Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The State's efforts in this whole area have been toothless and ineffective. The Minister spoke about private accommodation being available to Travellers. Since the recession, the State has reduced capital spending for construction of social housing for all people, sending people into the private rental market and expecting them to organise housing through that means. This causes major problems for members of the Traveller community because they do not have the same access to the private rental market that settled people have. Even among marginalised groups Travellers are at the bottom of the pile, and much of the time they end up living in sub-standard accommodation that no one else will take and in locations where there are no facilities. If, as many people would argue, we think we have problems with the Traveller community, they are of our own making. We are not doing enough to integrate them into normal society. The Government's policies discriminate against this marginalised group.

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