Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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340. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps taken and progress made since July 2019 following the report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16455/22]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Traveller Accommodation Expert Review report, published in July 2019, reviewed the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998, and other legislation that impacts on the provision and delivery of accommodation for Travellers. The Expert Review report, which is intended to improve the effectiveness of the arrangements for providing accommodation for members of the Traveller community, has 32 recommendations across 4 categories which are aimed at:

1.Addressing research deficiencies, including how information is gathered and used;

2.Removing any potential delays and obstacles in the planning system in terms of delivery;

3.Increasing resources and delivery capacity; and

4.Strengthening governance arrangements.

Delivery and implementation of the recommendations involves several areas within my Department, as well as input from other Departments, local authorities and other external stakeholders.

The Programme Board, established to drive implementation of the recommendations of the Traveller Accommodation Expert Review report (July 2019), recently agreed to report progress on implementation of the recommendations on my Department's website which is available at:

www.gov.ie/en/publication/37910-traveller-accommodation-expert-review-programme-board-update/.