Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

If the Minister is saying that what I said is not true, will he tell me why 11% of Travellers are homeless, why they have a suicide rate of 10% and why psychologists say that Government policies are adding to their identity problem and causing mental health issues as well as depression and suicide? Will the Minister consider the Irish Traveller Movement's position in which it argues for a national agency to deal with Traveller accommodation issues instead of relying on local councillors who are concerned about losing votes in the next election and having to deal with planning objections by residents who are blatantly discriminatory or concerned about the value of their properties dropping? Traveller housing is a difficult, complex and multi-layered issue, but this does not mean that local councils can shirk their duties to provide social housing to a marginalised sector of society which has a high level of homelessness. As far as I can see, the Minister is shirking his responsibility. He has a statutory duty and he is not recognising or fulfilling it.

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