Dublin Traveller housing plans 'abandoned'

The chairman of South Dublin County Council's Traveller accommodation committee has resigned, saying the Government has "abandoned" its own Traveller accommodation programme.

Cllr Don Tipping (Labour) particularly criticised the Minister of State with responsibility for Housing, Mr Noel Ahern, who he said had shown no leadership on Traveller accommodation.

He also cited delays of two years from the Department of Environment in approving Traveller accommodation plans. It was impossible to deliver the county's Traveller Accommodation Programme on time in those circumstances, he said.

Every local authority in the State was mandated by the Department to adopt Traveller accommodation plans in March 2000, which must be implemented by the end of next year.

"The delivery of Traveller accommodation is a difficult and politically sensitive issue. I do not know of one proposed halting site or group housing scheme that hasn't met with objections. Leadership at national level is vital on this, to push it through. It has to come from the top," said Mr Tipping yesterday.

In his resignation letter to the county manager, Mr Joe Horan, Mr Tipping referred to a decision by Mr Ahern not to convene a meeting of the Traveller accommodation committees of the seven local authorities in and around Dublin - including counties Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.

The Minister had been asked last August by the Mayor of South Dublin, Cllr Máire Ardagh, to convene a meeting to discuss the provision of transient Traveller sites on a regional basis.

His predecessor, Mr Bobby Molloy, had done so.

Mr Ahern replied in October, saying the provision of transient sites, while "disappointingly slow", was "essentially a matter for the local authorities concerned. Accordingly, I do not propose to become involved in arranging such a meeting".

Mr Tipping said the Minister was "washing his hands of any responsibility for the programme".

He also said there had been long delays in getting approval from the Department for proposed Traveller accommodation sites. He cited Kishogue in Clondalkin and in Killinarden.

"We submitted proposals for those schemes in February 2002. Approval came through last Friday.

"My resignation is a political move. It's to try and highlight the issue, to waken Government up and get people to see that the reason the programme won't be delivered by the end of next year is not the fault of the council."

He said the council's Traveller accommodation unit, particularly its head, Mr Michael Fagan, "are absolutely dedicated and working in a very difficult situation, facing intimidation and under tremendous pressure. And they are getting no support from the Minister".

A spokesman for the Department of the Environment and Local Government said it was not the case that the Minister did not want to meet local authorities' Traveller accommodation committees.

"It's a case that he shouldn't have to and it's not appropriate. The provision of Traveller accommodation is a matter for local authorities in the first instance."

He said delays in approving two Traveller accommodation plans in south Dublin were due to the complexity of the proposals.