Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and applaud the energy and commitment he is bringing to this very important issue. I acknowledge the presence and extraordinary contribution of Senator Flynn and its authenticity by virtue of her ethnicity. It is great that she is here. I also acknowledge the contributions of my colleagues here.

During my many years in local government, one of the greatest and most rewarding experiences I had was sitting on the Traveller accommodation committee over a number of terms. I found that very rewarding and enjoyable. I reference this because I ask the Minister of State to look at every county and see that it has a very vibrant, well-resourced and well-serviced Traveller accommodation committee in terms of executive support. We had a great one in my local authority for many years. I hope it is the same all the time. I have no reason to believe otherwise. A Traveller accommodation committee achieves a number of things. The local representatives get buy-in in their community and Travellers are part of the discussion. One of the 31 recommendations of the expert review group was around Traveller input into their destiny, the type of housing they get and where it is. I ask the Minister of State to look at Traveller accommodation committees, strengthen them where they are not strong enough and make sure they exist. Based on my own experience, I believe this is very important.

It is great that Traveller ethnicity was recognised in 2017. An ESRI report from that year sets out some stark background information about Traveller housing. A total of 8% of Travellers complete the leaving certificate compared with 73% of the rest of the population. As Senator Fitzpatrick said, there is a very real link between educational fulfilment and opportunity and accommodation because people need good accommodation to go to school. In 2017, 1% of Travellers had a college degree. This figure might have gone up a tiny bit since. The report showed that unemployment in the Traveller community is 82% while 12% of Travellers lived in a caravan or mobile home. There have been improvements over the years but those are stark background figures and it is in that context that we must look at this question.Among the issues cited in the expert review is a lack of integration of Traveller housing with the overall housing strategy. As the Government unfolds its national housing strategy, it should include a very clear section on Traveller accommodation. That section should be placed unashamedly as an equal part in the midst of the strategy. This is what the expert review group recommends.

The expert review group makes the point that in the development plans and local area plans of local authorities, there is not sufficient citing of Traveller accommodation. I ask the Minister of State to raise this with county managers. In development plans and area plans there should be Traveller accommodation targets, dates and facilities and, where possible, sites might be looked at. The question of adequacy of funding arises but if the funding is not used, it is sinister. We must ensure existing funding is used. The Minister of State said €23.1 million, or more than €20 million, is available this year, and this needs to be used in a proper way.

Governance was raised by the expert review group and this goes back, in a way, to Traveller accommodation committees. This is the idea that Travellers would be centre stage in their own planning and choices. The expert review group made a recommendation that I commend very strongly to the Minister of State. Pavee Point makes the point that there is an underestimation of Travellers' needs. The CSO should work with local authorities on a better study of the Traveller community, including their housing needs and existing housing, and where it should be going. There seems to be a variance between what Pavee Point says, and I read one of its reports, and the official statistics. I would like the Minister of State to square this triangle, if he can.

The cultural needs of Travellers have to be borne in mind, including the fact they like the extended family concept, the fact they have a specific economy, and this arose in a presidential election recently with regard to horses, and the fact they have a younger population, with 40% under the age of 15. Sadly they have a shorter life expectancy and, very tragically, 26% of the population have direct family experience of suicide, which is terribly sad. These cultural realities need to be factored into housing policy.

In 2017, a total of 59% of accommodation offered by councils was standard local authority housing. That is fair enough where it is happily accepted. Group housing schemes took 798 families but we have to look outside this because that is where the problem lies. Voluntary housing bodies can also provide accommodation to Travellers through the local authorities. This is good when it happens but one of the problems, as pointed out in one of the 32 recommendations, is that there is an inconsistency in the delivery of accommodation throughout the country. Knowing the Minister of State, he will get to grips with this because that is his form. It is morally and administratively wrong that there is an inconsistency. It is wrong on every level.

There has been a decrease in the number of halting sites. We need a further decrease but we also need the provision of halting sites. What we do not need are Travellers on the roadsides in perilous, dangerous and primitive conditions. This needs addressing. As the Minister of State noted, we have the adoption of a multi-annual Traveller accommodation programme each year. This should be part of the national and local plans. We need this planning and transparency. I draw the attention of the Minister of State to the recommendations made by the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government on 8 March 2018.There were some interesting recommendations, some of which are distinct and others of which are identical to those of the expert group.

I am delighted we are having the debate. I congratulate Senator Flynn and the Cathaoirleach for running with this. It is important we do this but it is also important that the Minister of State of State is present, and I thank him for his attendance. I pray we are back in six months discussing progress, and why not do that?