Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators Boyhan and Flynn for their contributions since I took over duty here. I want to reiterate the points around the rural housing guidelines. The Department is working on them. That is not to say that the existing rural housing guidelines are not in place at local authority level. All local authorities have to adhere to them and local needs. I take on board the points Senator Boyhan made about local families and maintaining the viability of family farms. Succession is one of the major issues affecting farming now. It is also true to say, and I think the Senator will agree, that the unchecked proliferation of rural housing has undermined the viability of many of our smaller towns and villages, where there are services such as water and wastewater infrastructure and many fine buildings that could be put back into use. From a planning and development perspective it is important that clustering occurs around urban growth centres to maintain the viability and vibrancy of our wonderful towns and villages. We have to strike a balance. The Government has introduced the vacant homes refurbishment grant, which has brought a lot of fantastic farmhouses and traditional buildings into use for families. Conservation advice and grants are also available to support that. The existing policies are in place and they may not have always served us well because there are significant challenges if we do not have regulation on rural housing that ensures that it is done in a sustainable way.

I mentioned the issue of contaminated well water last night. We are proposing that there should be free testing for that. There are many significant issues with people not even being aware that the well water they are drinking is contaminated. There is a myriad of issues, including transportation and isolation that have to be addressed in this legislation. That is why we need to have good guidance on it.

I also take on board the points made regarding prescribed bodies. An Taisce and other organisations do invaluable work in our system in ensuring there is a voice for NGOs around good, sustainable development and planning. That has to be recognised.

I can give Senator Flynn the same assurances that I have given to her here on previous occasions, and as I did last night, about the real significance of the strength of the local Traveller accommodation consultative committees, LTACCs, in developing the TAP. The Government has provided significant funding. The two former Ministers of State who have had responsibility, Deputy Peter Burke and Deputy Kieran O'Donnell, and the current Minister of State, Deputy Alan Dillon, have kept pressure on local authorities to ensure that they are spending their budgets, because it is really important that they do so. In the past, we have had issues of local authorities not meeting their allocation of spending for Traveller accommodation under the TAP. This was more than regrettable, because it left a lot of families in awful situations of overcrowding on temporary halting sites and in inadequate housing. That has to change and we are very conscious of it.

There is also the wider issue of Traveller nomadism, where some families like to travel and go on the road for the summer. These are issues that have probably not been grappled with in respect of the provision of temporary halting bays. It is part of Traveller culture. I gave the figures last night. There is a very significant spend on the TAP. The Ministers have kept that pressure on to ensure that every local authority meets its obligations under their TAP.

Added to that, which I mentioned yesterday evening as well, the needs of Traveller families are changing. Many families are opting not to go for Traveller-specific housing. They are renting in the private market under HAP tenancies or other accommodation types. It is important that those changing needs are met. In particular, the issues of overcrowding and homelessness among Travellers need to be dealt with. I will point back to the local solution. The Government is providing the funding and the policies to ensure that the TAP programmes are successful. However, it is really down to the local authorities, particularly the elected members, to ensure that there is a strong delivery of housing for Traveller families.