Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 264: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on Waterford City Council including in its new Traveller accommodation programme a stipulation that the council will not build halting sites until it can demonstrate it can manage its existing sites; and if he has exercised, or sought to exercise, his powers under section 18 of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 to require that Waterford City Council amend its accommodation programme to remove this stipulation. [11317/06]

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 265: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the actions he has taken to address the concerns raised about the new Traveller accommodation programme adopted by Waterford City Council in respect of correspondence from the Waterford city local Traveller accommodation consultative committee. [11318/06]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 264 and 265 together.

My Department's role on Traveller accommodation is to ensure that adequate legislative and financial provisions are in place to enable local authorities to meet the accommodation needs of Travellers. The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 put in place the structures to enable local authorities to provide accommodation for Travellers across the full range of accommodation options, including standard social housing and Traveller specific accommodation. In support of this, my Department, in addition to funding social housing generally in which Travellers are accommodated, provides 100% capital funding to local authorities for the provision of new Traveller specific accommodation and the refurbishment of existing Traveller specific accommodation to modern standards.

Subject to the provisions of the 1998 Act, it is a matter for local authorities to prepare, adopt and implement their Traveller accommodation programmes. In common with all other relevant housing authorities, in 2005 Waterford City Council adopted its second Traveller accommodation programme to cover the period from 2005 to 2008.

I understand the Waterford city area has two existing halting sites and the council is actively seeking an alternative location for one of these sites. It is hoped that early progress will be made on that issue and any requests for funding for an alternative halting site will receive speedy attention. With funding from my Department in excess of €1.5 million, major refurbishment and redevelopment works were carried out on the other site by the council in 1999 and 2000. While these works were substantially completed, the council has not been in a position to finalise them due to persistent problems on the site.

The council has now commenced an active programme to address the issues of ongoing concern. As part of this, the council undertook a major clean-up of the site late last year and recently implemented new management and maintenance structures for the site. Ongoing discussions are taking place with the residents and the local Traveller support group with a view to determining how to proceed with any refurbishment and redevelopment works which may now be necessary. Any requests for funding for works aimed at completing the refurbishment of this halting site will receive positive attention in the context of an effective management and maintenance scheme being put in place.

As a further measure I expect to approve at an early date the council's request for funding to allow construction work to commence on a total of seven Traveller specific houses in three schemes. My Department maintains contact with Waterford City Council on the implementation of its Traveller accommodation programme. The measures to be advanced in this programme will be important in addressing the full range of Traveller accommodation issues in Waterford city.In the circumstances, I do not consider thatresort to section 18 of Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 would assist the progress of the programme at this stage.