Traveller accommodation plan for Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown published

At least 12 permanent halting-site bays should be constructed each year over the next five years in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council area, according to a draft development plan for Traveller accommodation published yesterday by the local authority.

The plan, on which the council is seeking submissions, identifies a need for a total of 57 new halting-site bays as well as 10 group housing and 20 standard housing units for Travellers by the end of 2004.

In a survey carried out in preparation for the plan, it was established there were 126 families in the area, comprising 600 individuals, almost half of whom were living either on the roadside or in temporary accommodation.

More than 78 per cent of families had been resident in the area for longer than five years. Only 11 families resided there for less than two years.

The draft plan is due to form the basis of a five-year programme to meet the existing and projected needs of Travellers in the area, which all local authorities are obliged to prepare and adopt under the Traveller Accommodation Act, 1998.

In its survey of Traveller views, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council established that 58 families wished to live in standard housing, 44 at a halting site and 24 in group housing. The council said group housing needs should be met following the redevelopment of St Francis Park, Rathfarnham, and the construction of a new scheme at Dunardagh, Blackrock.

The survey further estimated that 98 children would reach the age of 18 over the next five years and that halting-site bays would be required for 45 per cent of these people.

In relation to the size of halting sites, the council said no specific norm should be specified, although it recommended permanent sites should not exceed 10 bays and transient sites 20 bays.

Regarding the management of sites, it proposed all tenants be required to sign a tenancy agreement and be advised formally about their responsibilities regarding maintenance. The council also suggested a resource centre be set up to assist community development.

Under its existing building programme, the local authority is seeking to construct new halting sites at seven locations: Gort Mhuire, Ballinteer; College Road, Rathfarnham; Bird Avenue, Clonskeagh; Booterstown Park; UCD lands, Mount Merrion; Pottery Road, Dun Laoghaire, and Lower Dodder Road, Rathfarnham. Of these, only the last two have advanced beyond planning stage. The last halting site introduced by the local authority was at Monkstown Avenue in December 1985.