Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will note a few things. When I spoke to the Minister of State outside the Chamber, I rightly said to him that the Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell, who previously had responsibility for Traveller accommodation, was absolutely brilliant. We did not have to do things, as Senator O'Reilly said, through committees and all that jazz. We did things in private. We got things done for the Traveller community that were remarkable. I thank that Minister of State for all his hard work on Traveller accommodation. Over the four years I have been in the House, he really had a commitment to Traveller accommodation. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, also brought around some changes.

However, could the Minister of State name one Traveller accommodation programme, TAP, that has worked for Travellers in the past 20 years? Could any Senator in the Chamber name one such TAP? This is not a fight. I was born and reared in these communities. If you go to St. Margaret's halting site, you will see the dire needs of Travellers who are living in rundown accommodation. The Minister of State made a point that was extremely important. It goes right back to the report on itinerants and the Traveller community.

Society wants us to be fake settled people, so we have trespass legislation that stops Travellers from travelling. I own my own house in Donegal but I can promise you that if I were to put a camper van or trailer into the garden, the Garda would be called. A man up the estate has a lovely little trailer in his garden but there is not a word about it. I thank the Minister of State for his comments. We hope we can really consider Traveller accommodation on Report Stage.

I thank Senator O'Reilly. We are glad she knows how to do her job. We also know how to do ours.