Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House to listen to what I have to say. We get report after report, but the report prepared by the Traveller community analysing all sites and group housing schemes in County Galway and Galway city is absolutely devastating. It is so clear and the pictures paint a thousand words. Many Travellers in Galway are living in Third World conditions on sites provided publicly that are not maintained, at least one of which does not have planning permission and is totally overcrowded to the point where it contravenes the law. We know what happened in Dublin in similar circumstances. I despair at the inability of Galway City Council to deal with this issue. I support the Traveller community's call for a complete overhaul of the Traveller accommodation planning system. Looking for Part 8 developments and trying to work through the current system have failed to deliver year in, year out. There is, therefore, a need for a specialist agency independent of the local authority or that at the very least we would move away from councillors in voting through planning permission for Traveller-specific accommodation. All such planning applications should be put through An Bord Pleánna, at least in the short term. This has become a country of reports, thinking reports, laws or big statements will solve problems. The local Traveller accommodation consultative committees produce a lot of paper but very few results. Put bluntly, there is not the political will to deal with the issue.

The figures which indicate how Travellers live are absolutely devastating. In 2016 some 7,000 Travellers, or almost one in four, were either sharing houses or bays on unauthorised halting sites in 2016. In Galway a disproportionate number of the homeless are Travellers, through no fault of their own. They are the finest people who come to see me every week and they are homeless because we are not providing accommodation for them. There was a ridiculous situation in the summer of 2017 when Galway City Council threatened to evict Travellers from the Cooltra halting site because it was overcrowded, yet it had nowhere for them to go. It was either move to somewhere illegal or stay where they were; it was a choice that involved moving from the frying pan into the fire. There are many more specific examples. One I have often quoted is the halting site in Carrowbrowne. I fought and worked hard to have it seen as a temporary expedient measure because the Travellers were living on the side of the road. It was only meant to be a temporary halting site. Planning permission was given for a period of three years was given and then one year by An Bord Pleánna which scarified Galway City Council. Notwithstanding this, to my knowledge, the Travellers have not been taken to court by the council in the jurisdiction of which the facility is in total breach of planning laws, nor have plans been made to provide suitable long-term accommodation for the Traveller families who deserve a lot better than being placed beside a redundant dump.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue and bringing attention to it. I also thank him for his openness to bringing about change and putting the focus on the provision of Traveller-specific accommodation, something which is not happening in many places and Galway is probably the best example. The report summarises and highlights the position as well as can be done. The Deputy knows that I have visited several sites and that I am aware of the difficulties with overcrowding. He referred described them as Third World conditions, but they are certainly deplorable. It is not good enough and not acceptable. Somehow the issue must be addressed and the position changed. I have been provided with a copy of the report produced by the Galway Traveller Movement into which it put a great deal of work. I genuinely want to see progress. This problem has been ongoing for many years and we need to move things on. I was pleased to have the opportunity to open the Irish Traveller Movement's annual conference last November and speak to Travellers in Galway and other parts of the country to hear their accounts of their accommodation issues at first hand. I have also witnessed at first hand some family situations, having visited a number of Traveller sites since taking up my role in the Department. The Deputy is correct - conditions are not acceptable. It is as simple as that and there is no way to sugar coat it.

I am deeply aware of the challenges facing Travellers and local authorities in the provision of safe, culturally appropriate housing options for families, not just in Galway but also throughout the country. Some local authorities do take their responsibilities seriously and want to move on the issue, but others are lagging behind. The system is failing. There is no other way to put it.

It should be noted that, in accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, housing authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller accommodation programmes, TAPs, in their areas. Local authorities are currently preparing their fifth multi-annual TAPs, which will run from 2019 to 2024. These will outline details of the programmes to be undertaken to meet the existing and projected accommodation needs of Travellers in their areas and the responsibilities of local authorities to deliver. The TAPs will be prepared by the local authorities in consultation with local Traveller organisations, the local Traveller accommodation consultative committees, LTACCs, other relevant community groups and the public in general.

The TAPs will come into effect from September this year. It was felt that it would make sense to introduce them in conjunction with the new councils so that there would be ownership of the programmes, instead of finalising them before the local elections only for nothing to happen thereafter. Notwithstanding this, identifying solutions to challenges in the provision of Traveller accommodation generally is a responsibility shared by all stakeholders. It has to be taken seriously. In line with the commitment in Rebuilding Ireland, and reflecting the disappointing level of overall funding drawdown in recent years, and having regard to relevant findings in relation to the European Social Charter which was referred to, the Housing Agency commissioned a review of funding for Traveller-specific accommodation in 2017. This review had regard to the targets contained in local authority TAPs and actual delivery. Less than 80% has been delivered over the past 20 years and in some years it has been less than 60%, while last year it was less than 50%. It is not where it should be but the money has been provided - it is just not being spent. The budget has gone up to where it should be, having suffered cuts previously.

Following its consideration of the review, the national Traveller accommodation consultative committee recommended to me that an independent expert group be established to examine and make recommendations on issues regarding Traveller accommodation policy, strategy and implementation. I accept that the Deputy does not like reports and this is another report but the consultative committee wanted this and it is designed to move things on. It has taken much longer than it should have done but it was established in September and held its first meeting in October 2018. I have asked the group to report to me as quickly as it possibly can with its review and its recommendations. It has been asked to review the effectiveness, implementation and operation of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, with a view to examining whether it provides a robust legislative basis for meeting the current and future accommodation needs of the Traveller community. It has also been asked to review other legislation that may impact on the provision and delivery of Traveller-specific accommodation, including transient accommodation, which will address a number of the issues raised by the European Committee on Social Rights and individuals in Galway, Cork and other places.

I expect that the group will provide my Department with a report in April this year. I have asked the group to make whatever recommendations it thinks are needed. It has been given no instructions to come back to me with small changes. I want it to recommend whatever it takes to fix this, once and for all. I ask for political co-operation to help us do this. The housing committee has met the expert panel and has bought into the process. I share the Deputy's frustration at what has happened in the system for the past number of years.

We have also set up a new task force for overall housing provision in Galway city and county, which includes Traveller accommodation. We are trying to drive activity because the targets are being missed by a long way. We are determined to address this as best we possibly can.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I know the Minister's heart is in the right place but it is all reports, words and more words. The system always creates another report, another examination, another consultation before we take action. In Galway city, it is game, set and match to the status quo, which is to do nothing. The Part VIII developments are not going through. We can have all the reports we want but nothing is happening. The Minister knows that time flies in the job he is in. He has only one short window of opportunity to get something done but he just gets another report and there is no action.

There are 15 families living on the Carrowbrowne temporary halting site on the Headford Road in Galway. The 30 adults and 36 children have been living on the site since 2009, when three-year planning, temporary, was given. The 15 families have stated a need for Traveller-specific, culturally appropriate accommodation but Galway City Council has not been able to meet this need and it applied for an extension of the planning permission on this site in 2012. In December 2013, An Bord Pleanála gave the council one year but it ran out in December 2014. The council did not even try. In the ten years in which these people have been living on the site, which was given as an expedient measure in a crisis, the council has not tried to get proper, long-term, suitable, high-quality accommodation.

The accommodation issues include rats, mice and fly infestation. This cannot be blamed on the Travellers but must be blamed on the fact that the site is a disused dump. Rats have been found in belongings and in sinks, showers, food presses and other areas. Flies are constant for the same reason. It is beside a recycling facility and windows and doors cannot be opened, while there are also sewage and sanitation issues. Pipes for sinks, showers, toilets and washing machines are constantly blocked up and water and sewage comes up over the ground and through the bays. The electricity is erratic and it goes off at times, leaving families without power. There are structural hazards and the sheds that have been provided are a health hazard as they are falling apart, while there are holes and cracks in the ceilings and walls. Windows are broken, as are the locks on the doors, which are steel doors like in a prison. It is more a case for Ireland Aid than what should be available in a First World country and it is replicated in various places.

We need action now and one simple thing needs to be done. We need some way of getting the planning applications through to provide the alternative accommodation. People have a human right to live in decent conditions.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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It is clear that we have needed action for a great many years. I have been on some of these sites and they have been troubled spots for 20 or 30 years but I can only act within the law that is there.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister can change it.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The legislation was introduced in good faith in 1998. In conjunction with the various Traveller representative bodies, I was asked to set up this expert group to bring about recommendations to change the system, once and for all. Proposals have been put in place and I am determined that when we get the report, we will act on it but we have to wait until we get it. The report will bring many stakeholders on board and we have had cross-party support for it from the housing committee. I hope that I, or whoever is in my job in the future, will implement the changes it recommends because we need to address the issue. There is only one way to do it and that is by going through the channels we have chosen. We need to bring everybody with us. I am not holding one particular sector responsible for this but it has not happened for a long time.

We have set up a task force specifically for Galway, under the chairmanship of Geraldine Tallon who has brought about great change and had great success working with the two local authorities in Cork. I am hoping this will also drive success in Galway so that we can get more of the money spent to improve the conditions of people living there and provide new accommodation.