Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It will not bring back any of those who lost their lives, obviously. The carrying out of a national audit will bring its own revelations, I would expect.

A new housing approval body, Cena, has been set up and is to be in operation shortly. Every local authority has a five-year rolling programme in terms of what it proposes to do about Traveller accommodation, be it through the provision of social housing, private rented housing or halting sites. There are local Traveller accommodation consultative committees in every local authority area. They comprise people elected by the people to discuss the question of Traveller accommodation, education, social services, etc. They assist in the preparation of the five-year programmes that are to be set out and implemented by every local authority. The National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee is in place. Its members are appointed by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government under the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998. It has an independent chairman and comprises representatives from the various Departments and the County and City Management Association, and it is the national platform for Traveller accommodation consultation. It supports the local Traveller accommodation committees, it commissions relevant research on Traveller issues, such as those raised by the Deputy, and it provides an advisory role regarding national policy and strategy issues.

With regard to the unfortunate tragedy that occurred in Carrickmines, the programme to review fire safety and Traveller accommodation is always of particular importance. Some authorities have held initial meetings about the plan to prepare for the review or to take appropriate action to improve the position in halting sites or other forms of Traveller accommodation. That is not yet finalised.

There is a national body but the point is that while it is all very well to talk in here, it is the making of decisions that will allow for Traveller accommodation to be provided that meets resistance. I would have believed that, following this horrific tragedy in Carrickmines, the local authority wanting to put in place temporary accommodation for a six-month period in a location close to where the temporary halting site has been in place for eight years would have been acceptable under the conditions set out. I regret that has not happened. There are probably still discussions ongoing between the local authority and the people living there. I assure the Deputy that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, devoted considerable time to trying to achieve closure on this in the hope that the matter might have been sorted out before the funerals. Unfortunately, it has not been. Therefore, it is a question of being able to make decisions that will allow for appropriate accommodation and the provision of all the necessary facilities for Traveller people. After all, they are of the same nationality as ourselves.

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