Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if the funding that has previously been available to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council for a traveller dedicated social worker is still available; and if not, the reason it has been cut. [45366/12]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if there is funding to all local authorities for dedicated traveller social workers; and if these positions are statutory. [45367/12]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 214 and 215 together.

In accordance with Section 6 of the Housing Act 1988, my Department recoups 90% of the salary and expenses of social workers employed by local authorities to work with Travellers on accommodation related issues. Some €3.7m was recouped for this purpose in 2011.

In September 2011 my Department raised concerns with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in relation to the extent to which the social worker duties related to Traveller accommodation issues. My Department considered that the list of duties proposed by the Council for this post appeared to go beyond Traveller accommodation issues and was largely concerned with a range of other tasks.

Consequently, my Department issued approval to this post on a contract basis for a period of one year only. No further correspondence has been received from the Council on the matter and no request to extend the current funding arrangements has been received in my Department.