Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I too give my sympathies to the families of that tragic fire for their loss. It was devastating. The whole country was devastated about it. However, who is responsible for fire safety in Traveller accommodation? There are about 10,000 Traveller families resident in Ireland. We have learned through bitter experience that self-regulation of fire regulations does not work. In 1998 the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act was enacted. The legislative framework we have today mandates all local authorities to draw up a five-year plan for Traveller accommodation. This legislation is patchy and, according to many Travellers, has resulted in no real change. For many years, the Traveller community has been calling for a housing watchdog in co-ordination with all agencies responsible for housing the Traveller community. We in Fianna Fáil support the setting up of this housing agency. The majority of the board would be Travellers in order to provide suitable accommodation for Travellers throughout this State. Improving Travellers' accommodation must be a priority for all parties. Some fire safety works have taken place in local authorities for Traveller accommodation rights. The absence of smoke alarms, the danger posed by multi-unit accommodation and the dangers of fire all need to be urgently addressed. I ask the Minister to make sure that every local authority carry out safety procedures on these factors for the Traveller community. Fianna Fáil proposes a national building inspectorate, as opposed to the assigned certificate system. I have massive concerns about the certificate system, which I believe does not address the issue. A building inspectorate, much like the national car test, NCT, system, with dedicated specialist staff monitored by the local authority, would be more cost-effective.

I welcome the €9 million the Government has planned to go into Traveller accommodation. However, I heard the Minister a few weeks ago address the matter of local authorities not using their Traveller accommodation funding but sending it back over the years. The Minister needs to address this issue because at the end of the day, he is accountable to every local authority. I want to make sure this €9 million is put to the best use for the Traveller community because we must make sure that nothing like that fire ever happens again in this country. I welcome the extra money and the fact that fire safety is now an issue in the Traveller community.