Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

We have to say that. What this Government has done, which is sad, has been to divide and conquer on the streets among poor people who are homeless, including mothers. Yet the Government could not extend the ban. I am not in government and I might come across as a bit of an eejit but by God if I was in government I would be the first to say that we need to give ourselves room to be able to fix what the system created. If you ring up looking for a house as someone from the Traveller community, you may not know what a Traveller looks like but you will know by their accent. I am glad that the rental market is under review because there is a lot of discrimination if you are looking for a lease as a member of the Traveller community, as a black person or as a person from another country. The Irish Traveller Movement and the Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community recommend a stand-alone Traveller accommodation system. Where are we on that? We have the Traveller caravan loan scheme, for which the money was never drawn down, where people could spend, say, €40,000 which was allocated for a trailer or a caravan. There is no political will here. If this Government wanted to fix the housing crisis it could do so. Where there is a will there is a way but the Government is not looking for a solution.