Sir, - Yvette Sullivan (March 7th) makes a number of valid points. However, the increasing number of Travellers arises mainly from the newlyweds of an expanding population. Rural nomadism diminished rapidly after the second World War to virtual cessation and total urbanisation by the late 1970s.
From olden times many Travellers tended to settle in houses, a trend encouraged by the Report of the Commission on Itinerancy in 1963. In the years since then, between 1,000 and 2,000 families have taken to living in standard houses, without prejudice to their Traveller culture.
The 1983 Report of the Review Body on the Travelling People recommended the establishment of halting sites, but strictly as temporary accommodation pending the clearance of the housing backlog. Regrettably, local authorities in the greater Dublin area not alone failed in the adequate housing of Travellers but, apparently, now look on halting sites as permanent accommodation.
This approach aggravates the situation, and persisting with it will magnify the numbers who have no alternative but the roadside. What Travellers need are houses, houses and more houses.
Yours, etc.
Mullingar.