asked the Minister for Local Government what action has been or will be taken to ensure that itinerants will not camp where they will create annoyance or damage to householders, and particularly to ensure that such camping and the abandoning of offensive rubbish and litter will not be permitted in the immediate vicinity of a church or cemetery.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Itinerants' Encampments.
59.
It is a matter for the Gardaí and the courts to protect the common law rights of persons who suffer annoyance and damage from itinerants.
Sanitary authorities who have by-laws regulating temporary dwellings in their districts may prosecute for breaches of these by-laws. They may take similar action under the antilitter by-laws to which attention was drawn in a recent circular letter issued by my Department. Sanitary authorities frequently invoke their powers to secure abatement of nuisances at itinerants' camps and they can also exercise some control over the use of land for temporary dwellings. These powers of sanitary authorities are not, of course, restricted to offences by itinerants. The general control of itinerancy is outside the scope of the sanitary services code.