Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 457: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will report on the status of each local council's implementation of their Traveller accommodation plan with respect to targets set; the deadlines missed in each case; the number in total and by type of Traveller accommodation units yet to be provided by each local authority under their respective five-year Traveller accommodation programmes 2000-04; the number of the councils which are in breach of regulations regarding Traveller accommodation; and the measures he will be taking to ensure councils' compliance with their own plans to achieve the targets set. [23548/04]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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All local authorities required to do so have adopted, and are in the process of implementing, five-year Traveller accommodation programmes, under the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998. These programmes, covering the period 2000 to 2004, estimated that, nationally, 3,785 units of accommodation would be required during the programmes to meet the then existing need and the additional need of 1,684 units of accommodation arising due to new family formations and other factors. Information from the most recent assessment of housing needs published by my Department in December 2002 indicated that this level of additional requirement was not arising.

Under their five-year Traveller accommodation programmes local authorities provide accommodation for Travellers in Traveller specific accommodation such as group houses and halting site bays and in standard social housing. Local authorities also assist Travellers in providing their own accommodation through the shared ownership and tenant purchase schemes as well as the house purchase loan scheme and the special Traveller house purchase grant.

The 1998 Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 does not require annual targets to be included in the accommodation programmes. The local authority Traveller programmes did not include such targets or a detailed breakdown of the number of units of accommodation which would be required under the various types of accommodation.

The following table sets out a breakdown of the accommodation provided at the end of the first four years of the accommodation programmes 2000 to 2003. In that period, local authorities have provided, or assisted in the provision of, permanent accommodation for an additional 1,369 Traveller families. This includes an additional 487 families in Traveller specific accommodation, 681 families in standard social housing and 201 families in accommodation provided by Travellers themselves with the assistance of local authorities.

Local authorities are currently preparing new accommodation programmes to cover the period 2005 to 2008. They have been directed to set annual targets in these programmes for the number and type of accommodation to be delivered for each of the four years of the programmes, across all accommodation types including group housing, halting site bays and transient sites as well as standard social housing. Local authorities are also required to set out annual targets for the refurbishment of Traveller specific accommodation during the programmes.

The Local Government Act 2001 includes a provision enabling the Minister to reduce or withhold any grant or any other money due or otherwise payable to a local authority where it has failed or substantially failed to comply with a statutory duty. While there are no proposals, at this stage, to have recourse to this power in relation to the provision of Traveller accommodation, this matter will be kept under consideration in the light of the achievement by the local authorities of the targets set under the new accommodation programmes now being prepared.