Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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653. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has assessed the conditions in Traveller accommodation, including the safety of such accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36307/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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In accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller accommodation programmes designed to meet these needs rests with the individual housing authorities. My Department’s role is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist the authorities in providing such accommodation, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding.

The tragic loss of life in Carrickmines highlights the critical importance of fire safety in local authority Traveller accommodation. Accordingly, on 13 October 2015 my Department wrote to all local authority chief executives instructing them that a programme to review fire safety in such accommodation should be initiated without delay to ensure that practical and appropriate fire safety measures, which can contribute to preventing loss of life and serious injury in local authority traveller accommodation, have been applied systematically across the country. 

A targeted Community Fire Safety initiative will also be put in place, aimed at promoting awareness of measures which provide protection from the dangers of fire. The initiative will be targeted at fire safety in all types of local authority Traveller-related accommodation and engage the full resources across the local authority. My Department is engaging with Traveller organisations at national level to secure support for this initiative.