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

In the past two decades, the number of Traveller families in need of accommodation has more than doubled, and more and more Travellers are presenting as homeless.Many Travellers are living in chronically overcrowded conditions and are excluded from Government statistics on homelessness. I see that this a major issue from Travellers coming into my clinics. This is wholly unacceptable. Travellers who are homeless need to be categorised accordingly.

The "RTÉ Investigates" programme “Travellers - Lives on the Fringes", broadcast in December 2018, was a shocking insight into the accommodation crisis for Travellers. While Travellers make up about 1% of the population, the "RTÉ Investigates" survey of local authorities found that they make up at least 8% of homeless adults staying in emergency accommodation and 12% of homeless children. These are significant numbers. It is alarming that the €157 million allocated to local authorities for Traveller accommodation between 2008 and 2017 was underspent by €52 million. Meanwhile, social housing delivery figures released as part of Rebuilding Ireland showed that 107 homes were provided in 2018 for Traveller accommodation and support at a cost of €6.8 million. The 2018 budget allocation, however, was €12 million. This represents an underspend of 44%. The failure to deliver Traveller-specific accommodation has serious implications for Traveller health, education and employment.

On 1 March 2017, Travellers were formally recognised by Dáil Éireann. A pragmatic approach needs to be taken to ensure delivery of Traveller accommodation from annual budget allocations. This requires working with communities to resolve any perceptions arising on any issues. Travellers are an important and distinct element of Irish culture and society. Their marginalisation is seen most starkly in the areas of housing, education and health. These are the issues I encounter. We need to focus more on awareness. Statistics support the view that Travellers are marginalised. Only 1% of Travellers go on to third-level education. Traveller mortality rates are still three times the national average and suicide rates among members of the travelling community are six times the national average.

Fianna Fáil believes the Government needs to do more to ensure local authorities are acting in a co-ordinated fashion to accommodate Travellers. There has been under-delivery and underspending of allocated budgets and local and political opposition has played a part in this. Local authorities' lack of compliance with provisions mandated through the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, lack of national and local oversight and monitoring have all culminated in a crisis.

We are already in the worst of times. We need to talk about what is being built in Ireland and address the issue that the housing units being built serve only one type of family. Across the board, the type of housing being built is not suitable and there is a focus on one type of housing. This is causing a massive issue in the system and it should be addressed properly. We need to look at what is available for Travellers and what would suit their accommodation needs. It cannot all be three bedroom houses. I see value in creating a national Traveller accommodation agency to look at the types of accommodation being made available. This agency would monitor, assess, advise and secure the implementation of the annual building and refurbishment programme of local authorities and Traveller accommodation programmes. It would review local development plans, advise the Minister on what needs to be done, review drawdown funding and oversee the national assessment of need. Fundamentally, it would consult nationally and locally with Traveller interests to ensure Traveller inclusion. That is crucially important.

We all want a space to suit our lives and live out our own stories so we can no longer be pigeonholed families. We need to have a committee meet Travellers and we need to have more communication with them. That is where we are falling down. The Irish Traveller Movement contends that there is an urgent need for a radical overall of the current delivery system for Traveller accommodation. The organisation feels Travellers have been let down. Of the 10,000 Traveller families resident in Ireland, 35% live in standard houses, 26% live in private rented accommodation, 7% live in group housing, 5.7% live in permanent halting site bays and 4.35% live in unauthorised halting sites. By law, councils should take reasonable steps to build Traveller-specific housing. A survey carried out by "RTÉ Investigates" revealed that 16 of Ireland’s 31 councils did not build any new Traveller-specific schemes in the ten years to June 2018. That is frightening. Despite the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, Traveller families in need of accommodation have more than doubled. They are five times the number sharing accommodation and account for 4,460 people in overcrowded halting sites and standard housing.

Travellers have also experienced an increase in homelessness. There are now 517 Travellers homeless and these are distinct from Travellers living in substandard and overcrowded shared accommodation. Figures show that the proportion of Travellers living in accommodation that is not fit for purpose is 11 times higher than among the general population.

Since the first Traveller accommodation programme, TAP, in 2000, the five-year mandatory plan in each local authority to provide accommodation for Travellers has had widespread delivery failings. Outcomes in the 17-year period to 2017 prove

nationally that low targets have been set for developing Traveller-specific accommodation such as halting sites, group housing and transient sites. In some instances, there are no targets, despite ministerial directions. Higher targets have been set for delivery of standard housing, while there has been a lack of adequate planning for population growth, inaction on overcrowding and homelessness and next to no delivery of transient accommodation. That is the overall picture and it highlights the main problem.

Further evidence appeared in June 2017 in the Government report, Review of Funding for Traveller-Specific Accommodation and the Implementation of Traveller Accommodation Programmes, which covered the period from 2000 until 2016. The report confirmed consistent failings in implementing funding. There was substantial underachievement over the lifetime of the TAPs, with only 68% of units delivered. These were targets determined, in the first instance, by the local authorities in each case. Poor quality of building also resulted in a need for early refurbishment, with those funds being prioritised over the development of new builds. The report also found a lack of accountability and transparency by local authorities and the absence of sanctions, legal implications or intervention in respect of the Government. That is crucial. Planning processes were found to be drawn out and failed at the Part 8, public consultation, phase when most came to a complete halt. The lack of planning for future population growth and an accommodation needs assessment that was not fit for purpose resulted in greater housing pressure.

The report of the task force on the Traveller community in 1995 identified that 3,100 new units of both Traveller-specific accommodation and standard housing were required by the year 2000. This tells us how long this has been going on. Of these 3,100 units, it was recommended that 2,200 should be halting site and transient bays and the remaining 900 should be Traveller-specific standard and group housing. There was a slow start in the period between 1997 and 2017, during which 1,218 of the proposed 2,200 halting sites were not delivered, while four times the targeted number of housing and group housing provision was delivered. I could go on.