The first report of the Task Force on the Travelling Community makes for depressing reading. In five years there has been no real improvement in the day-to-day lives of travellers, in spite of a variety of State sponsored initiatives. And the report concludes that the comments made by the Economic and Social Research Institute in 1986, - "the circumstances of the Irish travelling people are intolerable. No decent or humane society, once made aware of such circumstances, could permit them to exist" - are still relevant.
It is clear that some very challenging issues need to be addressed if we wish to regard ourselves as both a caring and Christian society. Gross discrimination against travellers appears to be endemic at community, political and official level. And while the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, has expressed disappointment at the lack of progress made in recent years and expressed hope that the position of travellers would progressively improve as a number of official initiatives take effect, there is no guarantee that this will happen.
The area of greatest discrimination involves the provision of housing and halting sites by local authorities. Between 1998 and 1999, there was an increase of just 68 in the number of traveller families accommodated in houses. At the same time, the number of permanent halting sites provided throughout the State dropped from 824 to 802, while the number of temporary halting sites fell from 309 to 271. The number of families on the roadside during the period rose from 1,148 to 1,207.
Three years ago, the Traveller Accommodation Act placed an obligation on all local authorities and their elected representatives to respond to the housing needs of the travelling community. But local prejudice and pressure from the settled community contributed to long delays in drafting housing schemes and in providing for temporary and permanent halting sites. There are some signs the situation is gradually changing. But a mountain of work remains to be done.
In some instances, travellers are their own worst enemies. By combining into large mobile groups and forcefully occupying sections of parks, housing and industrial estates, they antagonise communities that might otherwise be favourably disposed towards them. Arguing they have nowhere else to go does not answer the situation, particularly when they show no regard for the rights of others. And, unfortunately, a minority of travellers engage in bully-boy tactics and seek to extort money from businesses and individuals in return for moving on.
Many of these problems could be addressed through the provision of a sufficient number of properly serviced halting sites. It is only when genuine attempts are made by local authorities to provide for travellers' accommodation that the settled community can expect them to respond in a positive fashion. In the meantime, the Minister for Justice has introduced some anti-discriminatory legislation that will go some way towards vindicating their rights as citizens. The Employment Equality Act and the Equal Status Act make it an offence to discriminate against travellers - and others - in the allocation of jobs and in providing services. It is a start. But co-operation between both communities in dealing with day-to-day difficulties and ingrained prejudice is the only way forward.