asked the Minister for the Environment the number of traveller hardstops provided throughout the country; the cost of their provision; and the means by which local authorities are empowered to compel travellers to utilise these hardstops.
20.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Travelling Family Facilities.
8.
asked the Minister for the Environment (1) whether there is any national plan for the provision of official hardstands and housing facilities for travelling families; (2) whether legislation will be introduced to control the location of roadside dwellings; and (3) the financial assistance which is available for the maintenance and management of hardstands.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 20 together. In an announcement of 20 July 1984 the Government detailed a comprehensive programme to provide accommodation and other services for travellers. Within the context of that announcement, primary responsibility for the accommodation needs of travellers, whether by way of serviced caravan parks or housing, rests with housing authorities. The capital cost of providing serviced sites and housing for travellers is met in full by the Exchequer. This year almost £3 million has been provided specifically for sites. The maintenance and management of serviced sites, in common with that of housing, is a matter for authorities themselves.
Twenty-six serviced sites for travelling families have been provided, with assistance from my Department, by local authorities throughout the country. Additional sites are under construction or at an advanced planning stage. Details of the cost of the 26 sites are set out in a tabular statement, which I propose to circulate in the Official Report.
I consider that the powers contained in the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1948 and Road Traffic Acts, 1961 and 1968 are adequate to control the erection or retention of temporary dwellings and to regulate the use of public carparks. Their powers do not, however, enable local authorities to compel travellers to utilise any particular accommodation provided by the authority, nor do I consider it proper to legislate on these lines.
Serviced Sites Provided.
|
Local Authority |
Location |
No. of Bays |
Cost |
|
£ |
|||
|
Cavan |
Fairgreen |
12 |
213,000 |
|
Clare |
Drumcliffe |
16 |
314,000 |
|
Cork |
Blackash |
6 |
42,000** |
|
Foreghill |
11 |
221,000 |
|
|
Dublin |
Ballycoolin |
10 |
415,000* |
|
Brookfield |
10 |
405,000* |
|
|
Ballycragh |
10 |
360,000* |
|
|
Kishogue |
10 |
327,000* |
|
|
Kerry |
Rathass |
5 |
32,000 |
|
Listowel |
3 |
24,000** |
|
|
Laois |
Portlaoise |
2×10 |
500,000 |
|
Longford |
Auburn Park |
12 |
34,000** |
|
Monaghan |
Monaghan |
11 |
13,000** |
|
Castleblayney |
5 |
58,000** |
|
|
Offaly |
Tullamore |
16 |
266,500 |
|
Roscommon |
Killerney |
16 |
185,000** |
|
Castlerea |
10 |
120,000** |
|
|
Sligo |
Ballyfree |
8 |
37,000** |
|
Tipperary NR |
Nenagh |
5 |
90,000** |
|
Westmeath |
Ballyglass |
8 |
173,000 |
|
Cork Corporation |
Hollyhill |
12 |
120,000** |
|
Dublin Corporation |
Dunsink Lane |
20 |
122,514** |
|
Dubber Cross |
20 |
100,000** |
|
|
Cara Park |
20 |
183,000** |
|
|
Island Street |
6 |
36,656 |
*Estimated cost, details of final costs not finalised.
**Site provided prior to Government Policy Statement of July, 1984.
Note:
In addition to hard stands for caravans the facilities provided on the more modern sites include a separate service block for each family consisting of a toilet, washing facilities and public lighting.
I welcome the announcement by the Minister about the amount of money he has provided. In view of the difficulties experienced by many local authorities in trying to ensure that travellers will use those hardstops, and in view of the major difficulties those travellers cause for the settled community, would the Minister consider amending section 31 of the Sanitary Services Act, 1948 to give more power to local authorities to ensure that hardstops will be used?
I take it that the Deputy is suggesting that local authorities should be given power to oblige travellers to use hardstops. I suggest that on reflection the House might not consider it wise to enact legislation of that kind.
Would the Minister accept that part of the difficulty in seeking to provide adequate facilities for the travelling community who wish to continue to live in caravans and for whom, therefore, hardstops are required is that unless the matter is tackled on a national basis those local authorities who provide these facilities will find there is an influx of new families, in many cases from local authority areas where provision has not been made for them, and that this has resulted in the best endeavours by local authorities being set aside in the sense that they had tried to provide those facilities for families traditionally living in their areas but found that the difficulty about travellers parking beside roadways escalated because the law does not support the local authorities who take steps to provide better facilities for the travellers. Court decisions, as the Minister is aware, have come down on the side of the travellers who continue to park on the roadside. Would the Minister therefore agree that there is need for him, as the only person who can do so, to tackle this problem on a nationwide basis? Will he also give greater assurances of an adequacy of funds to be made available to the local authorities to enable a high standard of maintenance and management of the facilities to be provided on a continuing basis after the facility is open and in use? That has been another area of contention.
The Government's policy in relation to this question was set out in the statement of July 1984 and there is no intention of diverting from that policy, a policy which assumes of course that each local authority have a role to play and will participate in playing their part in trying to provide a reasonable and humane solution to this very vexed problem. I appreciate that particular authorities, very often the authorities with responsibility for large urban areas, have additional difficulties. But it can fairly be said that every help and encouragement have been given to the local authorities by way of advice from my Department whenever it has been sought, and it would be our hope that all local authorities would adopt and implement a programme in this regard.
I am going to allow two questions, one from Deputy Naughten and one from Deputy Molloy, and I will see what I will do then.
While I accept what the Minister has said with regard to his Department's involvement, will he accept that some local authorities are extremely reluctant to participate in this scheme of providing hard stands? Have his Department any plans to ensure that all local authorities play their part in dealing with this problem?
All local authorities are being encouraged to adopt and implement a programme. I am not aware particularly of any local authority who are not co-operating. I would be very disappointed to hear of any such case.
Would the Minister accept that part of the problem is that those local authorities who do provide hard stands for the number of families traditionally parking in their area find that, having provided proper facilities for them, there is a huge influx of other families from other areas, usually local authority areas that have not done anything for their travelling families, and that that is a cause of much dissatisfaction and discontent among the settled community who, having agreed to do something positive, find that the situation, rather than improving, in many cases deteriorates?
I am not particularly aware of that problem. If that were the case it would be particularly unfortunate and would serve to emphasise the need for each of the local authorities to play their part in addressing this very real social problem so that the matter can be addressed on a fair and equitable basis amongst the local authorities generally.
I would like to support Deputy Molloy.
This is Question Time.
Now that the Minister has been made aware that some local authorities are just not playing their part will he make it his business to try to encourage those who fall into that category to make some effort? In regard to maintenance and management, this is not the same as housing stock. There are specific difficulties in the maintenance of the sites. They are a financial drain on the local authorities. Would the Minister extend the financing not just to the provision of the sites but to the maintenance and management of them as well?
The House can rest assured that all authorities are being given every encouragement to participate in this programme. The Minister of State in my Department has had a number of discussions with local authorities urging them to embark on this programme, but he has had only a limited amount of success. I hope that all authorities will face up to their responsibilities in this regard.
Local authorities are responsible for the maintenance and management of their own housing stock and it is appropriate that they should be responsible for the management and maintenance of any facilities for travellers which should be regarded also as part of the housing stock.
The Government are not taking the problem seriously enough.
The local authorities are not taking it seriously.
It is a matter of understanding the problem.