Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

I agree entirely with Deputy Ó Cuiv. There seems to be a mealy-mouthed response across the board to the Travelling community. If a Travelling family goes to their local authority and says that it needs to change their caravan as it is 20 years old or whatever, they should be able to access the money to do it. It should not be a question of continuing to sleep in the cold. We have had a few nights of cold weather, but more is to come. Only a few weeks ago, three members of the Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community had to bring forward a Topical Issue matter regarding Spring Lane in County Cork because of the lack of response from the local authority, Cork County Council, to the needs of the Travelling community in that halting site. Things that were supposed to have been done a year ago were not done even though the people were promised it. It was still going on, so we had to raise it again in the Dáil. There is a question mark over how the Department and how Government address the issues affecting the Travelling community. It is important that we follow-up on that report and ensure that it is followed through.

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