Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 6 Dec 2001

Vol. 546 No. 1

Written Answers. - Traveller Accommodation.

Austin Deasy

Question:

59 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the reason action is not taken against local authorities which are not providing the requisite number of halting sites for Travellers; his plans for so doing by way of regulation or legislation in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31088/01]

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

Each county and county borough council, borough corporation and the urban district councils of Bray and Dundalk are required under the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998, to prepare and adopt a five year Traveller accommodation programme and Act and to take all reasonable steps to implement these. All local authorities concerned have adopted such a programme. My Department is continuing to monitor progress in the implementation of programmes and is liaising with local authorities in this regard.

The committee to monitor and co-ordinate the implementation of the recommendations of the task force on the traveller 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. It is envisaged that the review will include,inter alia, the progress in the provision of accommodation under the programmes.

While a provision is included in the Local Government Act, 2001, enabling the Minister to reduce or withhold any grant or any other money due or otherwise payable to a local authority where it has failed or substantially failed to comply with a statutory duty, I have no proposal at this stage to resort to this power in relation to the provision of Traveller accommodation.