Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 31 May 2001

Vol. 537 No. 4

Written Answers. - Traveller Accommodation.

Liam Lawlor

Question:

119 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his views on whether amendments to the legislation governing Traveller housing accommodation may be required to assist local authorities, primarily in the Dublin area, to cope with the sudden and often overwhelming influx of trading Travellers from elsewhere in the country and from Great Britain; if he will accept that, for instance, it is extremely difficult for a local authority like South Dublin County Council to deal with as many as 200 caravans parked illegally on one site while at the same time endeavouring to meet its statutory obligations to provide accommodation of a proper standard for those members of the Traveller community resident within its administrative boundaries; if he will support the efforts of South Dublin County Council to seek agreement with the other local authorities in Dublin for an integrated approach to the provision of temporary accommodation for Travellers coming into the region; and if he will accept that the after effects of large incursions of trading Travellers such as occurred in Clondalkin in 2000, contributes to an unfortunate reaction from some members of the settled community towards any form of Traveller accommodation in their immediate areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16412/01]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Molloy)

The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998 requires local authorities in carrying out their statutory assessment of needs, under section 9 of the Housing Act, 1988, to include a separate assessment of the need for caravan sites for Travellers. The need for the provision of sites with limited facilities normally referred to as transient sites, to take account of the annual pattern of movement of Travellers, is therefore seen as an integral part of the provision of Traveller accommodation. No distinction is made between categories of Traveller, such as traders, which may avail of the use of transient sites provided by local authorities.

Guidelines, prepared in consultation with the National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee, which were issued by my Department to local authorities on the provision of transient sites recommend that generally such sites should not be designed to cater for more than 20 bays. In light of this it is clear that a co-ordinated approach between adjoining local authorities to the provision of transient sites provides the best means of ensuring that identified needs are met. Any approach that focuses on the provision of transient sites in co-ordinated way is therefore to be welcomed.

The 1998 Act provided new powers for local authorities to deal with incidents of unauthorised Traveller encampments on public land and on the roadside. Briefly, section 32 of the Act empowers local authorities to act where: an unauthorised temporary dwelling is within five miles of a serviced site provided by any housing authority or voluntary body with the assistance of a housing authority where the dwelling could be accommodated on such site; an unauthorised temporary dwelling is in poor condition or interferes with amenities or is likely to be a risk to personal or public health or safety where the dwelling could be accommodated on another serviced site, an unauthorised temporary dwelling is within one mile of any Traveller accommodation provided by the housing authority or approved voluntary body.

The purpose of these provisions is to protect residents in Traveller accommodation and those resident in the vicinity of that accommodation. Guidelines have issued to local authorities in relation to these provisions.

There are other powers available to local authorities such as those available under the Planning Acts in relation to unauthorised development and under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1948, in relation to the prohibition of temporary dwellings in certain areas. Controls under environmental, litter, public health legislation and the legislation relating to the control of dogs and horses are also available to local authorities to deal with unacceptable behaviour which may arise from the use of temporary dwellings. A local authority's powers to make bye-laws in relation to the use of temporary dwellings under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1948, have been strengthened under the Local Government Act, 1994.

Under the Roads Acts vehicles must not be parked in a manner which interferes with the normal flow of traffic or which obstructs or endangers other traffic. The Road Traffic Act, 1961, expressly prohibits the parking of a vehicle in a dangerous manner. Enforcement of these provisions is generally a matter for An Garda Síochána.

The Committee to Monitor and Co-ordinate the implementation of the Recommendations of the Task Force on the Travelling Community recommends, in its first progress report, that the operation of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998 Act should be reviewed in 2002, two years into the delivery of the Traveller accommodation programmes. Any review would, therefore, include the arrangements for the preparation and implementation of all elements of local Traveller accommodation programmes as well as provisions for dealing with unauthorised encampments. Arrangements for carrying out such a review will be considered in due course and will take account of experiences such as those referred to by the Deputy.