Written Answers. - Parking Regulations.
Seán Power
Question:
94
Mr. Power
asked the
Minister for the Environment and Local Government
if he will consider introducing new legislation to deal with the problems created for local authorities and residents by commercial Travellers travelling and parking in large numbers.
[18219/01]
: The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 requires local authorities to undertake an assessment of the need for, inter alia, transient halting sites for Travellers and to have regard to the provision of such sites in the accommodation programmes adopted under the Act, having regard to the annual patterns of movement by Travellers. It is envisaged that the increased provision of accommodation, including the provision of transient sites, resulting from the implementation of the local accommodation programmes will greatly reduce the incidence of unauthorised parking.
The 1998 Act also provided new and improved powers for local authorities to deal with incidents of unauthorised Traveller encampments on public land and on the roadside. Briefly, section 32 of the 1998 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, should be reviewed in 2002, two years into the delivery of the Traveller accommodation programmes. Any review would therefore includeinter alia the provisions dealing with unauthorised encampments. Arrangements for carrying out such a review will be considered in due course.
