Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá bliain ann ó cailleadh an deichniúr saoránach de chuid na tíre seo i dtine uafásach i mBóthar Ghleann na Muc i gCarraig Mhaighin sa gcontae seo. An rud is uafásaí ná gur tubaiste é a d'fhéadfadh stop a bheith curtha leis. Tá fadhb na tithíochta i measc an Lucht Siúil aitheanta leis an páirtí seo againne le fada an lá. Faraor, ní go tharla an tragóid seo go chuir an Rialtas an méid sin suime sa scéal. Tá fáilte mhór roimh ár gcairde anseo inniu ón bPobal Siúil agus tá súil agam go mbeimid ag obair as lámh a chéile as seo go ceann i bhfad go bhfeicfidh muid réiteach ar an gcás scannalach seo.

The report is dedicated to the ten people who perished in Carrickmines and we should dedicate this debate and our actions in this area to Willy Lynch, Tara Gilbert and their daughters, Kelsey and Jodie, Thomas and Sylvia Connors and their children, Jim, Christy and six month old Mary, as well as Jimmy Lynch, a brother of Willy, because this humanises the tragedy that brought all of this into stark focus.

As a community, Travellers continue to endure some of the worst and most overcrowded living conditions in Ireland. In the past seven years, funding for Traveller accommodation has been cut by 93%, from €70 million in 2008 to €4.3 million this year. A total of 1,536 Traveller families are living in overcrowded or unsafe conditions and many Travellers do not have access to basic facilities such as sanitation, water and electricity. Travellers fare badly in all key indicators of disadvantage, including employment, poverty, health, infant mortality, life expectancy and education. At the root of all these problems are the levels of prejudice, discrimination and social exclusion experienced by these citizens.

A total of 34 Travellers have been criminalised under legislation, namely, the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002, which allows the Garda to move families on demand and without notice. Failure to comply with such a demand may result in a heavy fine or term of imprisonment. This in itself constitutes a major human rights violation.

Little consideration has been given to the cultural values of Travellers when providing accommodation. As a result, much of this accommodation has not been designed in a way that meets Travellers' specific needs. In addition, some current Traveller accommodation programmes do not meet basic standards.

For too long, bigotry and discrimination have been allowed to hinder the provision of Traveller accommodation. We must ensure that funding for Traveller accommodation is used and the provision of homes for the Traveller community is no longer allowed to be used as a political football. In this regard, I concur with many of the points made by Senator Coffey. It is appalling, for example, that the Mayor of Galway, who is a member of the Traveller action programme committee, is also canvassing in opposition to Traveller accommodation in certain areas of the city. It beggars belief that an elected representative is engaging in such an appalling practice. Public representatives must show leadership and engage in proper consultation at local and national level to ensure the problem is alleviated.

The report was commissioned in the wake of the Carrickmines tragedy. I note from the introduction that co-operation took place between statutory agencies, local authorities and the Travelling community and I hope such co-operation continues on the work that will need to be done to find a permanent solution.

There are fears the report will be used as another excuse to evict people from sites or in circumstances that are not acceptable. These fears need to be addressed. The report is a starting point or roadmap, not an end in itself, and it must not be viewed as putting the matter to rest. Carrickmines was the result of a legacy from the foundation of the State.

The report gives a qualified welcome, as I do, to the measures carried out in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. There is, however, much more to be done and Sinn Féin has argued for more to be done for a long time. In our most recent alternative budget, instead of tax cuts for the well-off, we proposed significant investment to provide adequate, secure and culturally appropriate accommodation for Travellers. We are committed to restoring the Traveller accommodation budget to the 2008 level of €40 million. We would achieve this by increasing the current allocation by €36 million in 2017. Sinn Féin also had Traveller accommodation at the heart of our Better for Housing document, which will underpin our housing policy when we are in government.

My party is often accused of not making positive recommendations. Our proposals include the introduction of a Traveller ethnicity Bill; front-loading of funding to local authorities with a good track record of drawing down funds and delivery of Traveller accommodation and penalties for local authorities which refuse to build necessary Traveller accommodation; reform of all legislation that penalises Traveller culture and ways of life; the introduction of amending legislation to make the Traveller accommodation programme a mandatory consideration on an application for planning permission; empowerment of the national Traveller accommodation consultative committees to take charge of the provision of Traveller accommodation with an annual budget and targets; the establishment of an all-Ireland programme for provision for nomadism in co-operation with all local authorities in the Six Counties and Twenty-six Counties; incorporation of local development plan zoning objectives with provisions of the Traveller accommodation programme, especially for the use of temporary or transient halting sites; prescribing that the use of land as a transient halting site for a specified number of weeks per annum should be as an exempted development; bringing the development of private halting sites within the "open for consideration" or "acceptable" categories under agricultural zoning; using external mediation of disputes where Traveller and settled communities come into conflict over Traveller accommodation issues; and developing a broader, meaningful Traveller-settled community reconciliation process.

As for the report, there are concerns about carbon monoxide alarms not being installed. This is vital because most Traveller accommodation is not linked to a service provider such as the gas network and many housing units rely on solid fuel burners or appliances run off gas canisters. All of this occurs in a confined space where ventilation may be a problem. This issue needs to be tackled immediately because unlike in the case of fire, there will be no prior warning of a build-up of this lethal gas.

Access to Traveller sites for emergency vehicles was identified as a problem, albeit one that could be solved through a ministerial order to the local authorities to improve access from public roads and remove barriers that may impede access for emergency vehicles. Urgent action is needed on this point.

The issue of electrical connections appears to be the most urgent matter. In 62% of the sites assessed, a requirement to carry out remedial works was identified and the use of multiple adaptors was also identified as an issue.

It is important that this report and other reports are not used as a mechanism for seeking changes in accommodation arrangements. Sinn Féin wants to see the fire safety appraisals and any resultant fire safety enhancement works undertaken in partnership with the relevant Traveller community. Current legislative enforcement provisions must not be invoked as part of this process to try to effect change.

The reason for the long delay in implementing many of the recommendations is the substantial reduction in funding for Traveller accommodation. In addition, as has been noted by certain local authorities, there is a reluctance to draw down and utilise the money available to provide proper and safe accommodation. In one incident in County Dublin, local councillors actively campaigned through leaflets not to have a site used for accommodation, while ostensibly claiming that the proposed scheme would have been a waste of money.

Even when moneys are allocated for Traveller accommodation, for example, the €4.3 million allocated under the watch of Senator Paudie Coffey, when he was the Minister of State with responsibility for Traveller accommodation, no moneys were allocated to many local authorities, including Carlow, Cavan, Donegal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, South Dublin, Galway, Laois, Leitrim, Louth and Mayo County Councils and Galway City Council. Many of these council areas have long waiting lists for Traveller accommodation.

In Galway, we see very little activity but hear much talk about Traveller accommodation. While I welcome the project under CENA to develop a halting site, compared with the group housing initiative under CENA in County Offaly, the project in Galway is very slow to be developed and the halting site proposed under the council's Traveller accommodation policy appears to have gone by the wayside. Sinn Féin would, as I indicated, immediately tackle these issues by front-loading funding to local authorities with a good track record of drawing down funds.

While it was great that so many parties adopted a united position in the wake of the Carrickmines tragedy and that the report was published, there is a need to match rhetoric with action, which means confronting those who hold anti-Traveller bias in council chambers at local authority level and in the community. Nothing will change unless it is made known to these people that they can no longer block progress. The polite protestations of certain politicians that some areas are more suitable than others for Traveller accommodation is a cowardly retreat into seat-saving and renders the holding of political office as nothing more than self-preservation.

Tá an t-am istigh. Fáiltím roimh an tuairisc ach, i ndáiríre, an scéal mór atá anseo ná an easpa gníomhaíochta maidir le tithíocht agus cóiríocht fheiliúnach don Lucht Siúil. Caithfear aghaidh a thabhairt air sin. Tá muide ag tiomáint chuige sin agus tá súil againn go gcuirfidh an Rialtas, in ómós do na daoine a cailleadh an t-am seo an bhliain seo caite, beart de réir briathar sa gceist seo ar fad.