Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I acknowledge the work and commitment of the Minister of State to this project. Because of this commitment, he has built up a considerable volume of trust with members of the Opposition and with the stakeholders.

I have two concerns. The Housing Agency's report was published in January 2017. Extensive consultations took place during that. The expert group did its work and got engaged. I do not believe there is necessarily a need for a wide sectoral consultation. It is more about the Government deciding which of the recommendations it is going to implement and what the timeline is. The sooner the Minister of State can bring that forward the better. I and many of the Traveller advocacy organisations would hate to see another long round of discussions when really what we want to see is what is going to be implemented.

There was a 45% underspend in 2017 of the money allocated by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to local authorities for Traveller accommodation. That underspend rose in the following year to 48%. Halfway through this year it was less than 20%, although I am aware this will increase. A huge amount of money is not being spent. The urgency on this is enormous. I am happy with the action plans if the actions are good and if the target dates are met. The sooner the Minister of State can bring that forward so that everybody is clear as to how the 32 recommendations are going to be implemented, the better it will be for all of us.

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