Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am speaking in favour of this because it is related to an amendment we have submitted. Local authorities have the responsibility of developing Traveller accommodation and a Traveller accommodation strategy. It is important that the LDA will be cognisant of the responsibility it has to the Travelling community in the development of public land.

One thing that arises is that local authorities do not spend their budgets when it comes to the provision of Traveller accommodation. The Minister knows about this because it comes up at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community when we are discussing accommodation. In many circumstances local authority members refuse to vote for Traveller accommodation or through other means oppose it or use value for money arguments for certain sites. We saw a local election candidate who is now a Minister do this when it came to the provision of Traveller accommodation for people who had been made homeless as a result of the Carrickmines fire. The attitude is prevalent in Irish society. We have the opportunity with the LDA Bill to address this. An agency that is developing public land for housing needs to include the Traveller accommodation strategy in its work. I appeal to the Minister to accept the amendment. This could be helpful in terms of developing Traveller accommodation. Some local authorities have frustrated that process over the years.