Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Táim buíoch as an deis a thug an Ceann Comhairle dom caint faoin ábhar an-tabhachtach seo maidir leis an Lucht Siúil. The publication yesterday of the judgment against the State by the European Committee of Social Rights in respect of housing for Travellers is a damning one and must be taken with the utmost seriousness. I welcome the committee's findings as they vindicate the position that Traveller advocacy groups, human rights bodies and some political parties have taken on the issue of Traveller housing or the lack thereof over the years. The committee concluded that the State violated Article 16 of the European Social Charter on the grounds of insufficient provision of accommodation for Travellers on three grounds. First, there was insufficient provision of that accommodation. It was found that of 1,000 transient beds identified as needed by a 1995 task force, only 54 are in place, and not all function as proper transient sites. Second, it was judged that many sites are in a poor state of repair or badly located, and a lack of water, poor rubbish collection and problems with damp, flooding and sewage are persistent. Safeguards for Travellers threatened with eviction are inadequate. The current legislative framework fails to provide for adequate consultation or notice, or a requirement to propose alternative accommodation.

For an illustration of all three issues, we need only consider the disgraceful and degrading treatment of Travellers in my constituency, Louth. Travellers in Dundalk have been evicted not once, but twice, in recent months. Seventeen families were displaced, including 22 children, some only days old. They were effectively put on the side of the road. The distress to the families as a result of the decision by Louth County Council, without consultation with elected members, to evict them from council-owned land has been entirely unreasonable and unnecessary. The common sense and most efficient resolution is to ensure urgently that the council provides a temporary emergency halting site while the State-wide review of Traveller accommodation is ongoing.

Councils are obliged to put in place Traveller accommodation but there is no transient site in Louth and the families have consequently no choice but to park their caravans wherever they can. That position is not tenable. Such issues are no surprise given the fact that, over the past decade, funding for Traveller accommodation has been cut by 93%, from €70 million in 2008 down to €4.3 million in 2015.

The Housing Act has also contributed to the crisis as it empowers gardaí to move families on demand without notice. The programme for Government contains some measures that are welcome, including a new integrated framework for social inclusion. I look forward to the publication of a revised national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy by the end of 2016, as promised. The commitment to establish a working group to audit the current delivery and implementation of Traveller accommodation plans also sounds positive but there is a failure to provide a timeline for its completion, which, I hope, the Minister might clarify.

Sinn Féin has called for a range of measures to provide Traveller accommodation, including the front-loading of funding to councils with a good track record in drawing down funding to provide Traveller accommodation. We also believe the National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee should take charge of the provision of Traveller accommodation and be given an annual budget and target, and an all-Ireland programme for nomadism should be drawn up, allowing for co-operation between all local authorities across the Thirty-two Counties. Incorporating the provision of Traveller accommodation programmes into local development plans and objectives would also be a welcome move.

Traveller ethnicity is a key issue. We were told in late 2014 by the then Minister of State, Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, that recognition of Traveller ethnicity would be a reality in six months. Nineteen months later, we have seen no movement on this. Travellers have such recognition in the North, England, Scotland and Wales. The formal recognition of ethnicity is not a magic wand or a formula that will address the challenges and discrimination faced by the Traveller community, but it would be a step in the right direction. I appeal to the Minister to ensure a temporary emergency halting site is put in place for the families in Dundalk. He should advance all other mechanisms for dealing with the issues raised in the judgment of the European Committee of Social Rights and ensure the Government commits to delivering Traveller ethnicity in the coming term.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I apologise to the House for not being here for the start of Deputy Adams's speech. My understanding was that I would be up next rather than now because we swapped with the previous Minister. However, I picked up most of what the Deputy was saying.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I will give the Minister my script.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will get my script, the official response, on a lot of issues. I believe we are meeting tomorrow to discuss housing generally but I am aware that the Deputy has asked to meet me on Traveller accommodation, in particular. We can have a detailed discussion on the Woodland Park issue in Dundalk, in which I know the Deputy has been involved. There are many complications associated with it, which I am sure he knows about. However, we are anxious to find a resolution to what is a very difficult set of circumstances.

On the points raised regarding the European Committee of Social Rights, it is important to put on record the context. In May 2013, a complaint against Ireland was submitted by the European Roma Rights Centre to the European Committee of Social Rights in accordance with the requirements of Article 5 of the Additional Protocol to the European Social Charter, which provides for a system of collective complaints, claiming that the Government of Ireland has not ensured the satisfactory application of articles 16 and 30 of this charter, particularly with respect to accommodation for Travellers in Ireland. Several complaints were examined by the committee in regard to potential breaches of Article 16, concerning the right of the family to social, legal and economic protection, Article 30, concerning the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion, Article 17, concerning the right of children and young persons to social, legal and economic protection, and Article E, stipulating rights are to be secured without discrimination on the ground of association with a national minority or ethnic background, of the charter.

The committee completed its report and published its findings on 16 May. It is important to note that the findings were mostly favourable. In particular, the committee found that Ireland is not in breach of Article E of the charter, which upholds the principle of non-discrimination, Article 17, the right of children and young persons to social, legal and economic protection, and Article 30, the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion.

It is also reassuring to note the committee's finding that Ireland is meeting its international obligations in the context of the adequacy of the legislative framework and the delegation of statutory responsibility to local authorities to meet the accommodation needs of Travellers, and has found no violation of Article 16 on this issue. The European Committee of Social Rights found that Ireland is in violation of Article 16 on the grounds that there is a shortfall in sufficient accommodation for Travellers, despite the progress made and the policies put in place by the Government. The committee's report also notes Ireland's commitment and ongoing efforts to provide appropriate and high quality, Traveller specific accommodation. The report states "that Ireland has overall made significant progress in the last decades in the provision of accommodation for Travellers, access to housing and the refurbishment of Traveller accommodation".

I will continue our efforts in the provision of quality, Traveller specific accommodation through the national and local consultation and collaborative structures in place under the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, while also recognising the importance of the role and responsibility of the Traveller community in progressing this objective in partnership with us. Deputy Adams is correct to note some of the challenges we face in the provision of social housing. However, the budget for Traveller specific accommodation increased by 22% between 2015 and 2016 and currently stands at €5.5 million. The figure cited by the Deputy refers to the budget for 2015. The significant increase in the allocation this year is a recognition of the need for more Traveller specific accommodation and the importance of working with local authorities to meet this need.

The social housing provision and homelessness challenges we face, and which I am facing on behalf of the Government, involve many travelling families. Almost 1,000 of the families accommodated in hotels are from the Travelling community. I am well aware of this issue and the programme for Government signals the need to prioritise this area. I look forward to having detailed conversations with Sinn Féin and other political parties on the response needed in this area.