Traveller housing plans to be reviewed

The Minister of State for housing, Jan O’Sullivan, is to demand “midterm” statements from every local authority on their delivery of Traveller accommodation. She said the Department of the Environment would also examine, for the first time, local authorities’ plans for Traveller accommodation that are currently being drawn up, before signing off on them.

Local authorities are finalising their next five-year Traveller accommodation plans (TAP), which will run from January 2014.

Earlier this year it emerged local authorities had, over the past seven years, spent €50 million less than had been allocated by the department to provide Traveller accommodation.

Ms O’Sullivan said she was not happy that local authorities were failing to spend funds. She said if they could not give “realistic” reasons why the money wasn’t being spent the department would reallocate it to other local authorities.

Since 1998 every local authority in the State has been mandated to draw up five-year TAPs (the first year of their full operation was 2000). They are required to provide group housing, permanent caravan parks, transient halting sites and emergency provision, as well as standard local authority housing.

They are obliged to “take any reasonable steps as are necessary” to implement their Traveller accommodation programmes.

There are, however, no sanctions or penalties that can be imposed on local authorities that fail to implement their TAPs.

There have been calls in recent months for the provision of Traveller accommodation to be taken out of the hands of local authorities. However, Ms O’Sullivan said she was not looking at this option for now.

“I wouldn’t want to consider at this stage because I think we can do better than the current arrangement. I want to monitor it more closely and I am looking for regular reports.

“So if we find money hasn’t been spent up to what should have been spent that we can go back to those local authorities and get a realistic answer. Will they be able to spend it? If not that we can reallocate to somebody else that can. It is something I want to get to the bottom of. “

She added: “The new plans that are currently being drawn up and are due to come in 2014. So I’ll have an opportunity to examine those plans as they are being drafted to ensure that they are realistic and that they are responding to need and that there is a commitment to actually making them happen.

“Local authorities need to be committed and I think Traveller groups need to be very carefully consulted to ensure there is realism and an understanding around what is going to be delivered.”

Ms O’Sullivan said it was important that Traveller accommodation conformed to the occupants’ cultural and traditional needs.

“Where Travellers choose to have Traveller-specific accommodation I think we have a duty to support that. I would hope there is an understanding and acceptance that this is a culture that needs protecting. People in decision making positions like myself, I think it’s important that we make that point,” she said.

Ms O'Sullivan spoke to The Irish Times before it was revealed at the weekend that the European Roma Rights Centre has lodged a "collective complaint" with the European Committee of Social Rights.