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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 22 Oct 2002

Vol. 555 No. 5

Written Answers. - Traveller Accommodation.

Charlie O'Connor

Question:

396 Mr. O'Connor asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the details of the last report by local authorities on the provision of Traveller specific accommodation within their functional areas to meet the accommodation needs of Travellers as set out in the 1995 task force report on the Traveller community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19219/02]

A new system for monitoring the activity of local authorities in relation to the implementation of their five-year Traveller accommodation programmes adopted under the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998, was introduced in January 2001. The most recent report relates to the period January to June 2002. The following tables provide the details of new units of Traveller specific accommodation completed in the first half of 2002 and the numbers of exist ing units of Traveller specific accommodation on which refurbishment work has been completed in the same period. In addition to Traveller specific accommodation, 102 units of standard accommodation have been provided for Traveller families, 69 of which are local authority houses and the balance provided under the single instance purchase scheme, the shared ownership scheme and houses purchased by Traveller families with the assistance of a new house grant and a special house purchase grant for Travellers. There are currently 17 projects under construction which will provide an additional 100 units of new Traveller specific accommodation. Eleven projects, providing for an additional 62 units of Traveller specific accommodation, have also been approved by my Department. Fifty units of Traveller specific accommodation are being refurbished and approval has been given for the refurbishment of a further 40 units.

Number of new units of Traveller specific accommodation provided

(January-June 2002)

Local Authority

Group Houses

Permanent Halting Site Bays

Bays withBasic Services

Total

Carlow Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Cavan Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Clare Co. Co.

0

0

8

8

Clonmel Borough Council

0

0

0

0

Cork City Council

0

0

0

0

Cork Co. Co.

0

0

2

2

Donegal Co. Co.

0

0

6

6

Drogheda Borough Council

0

0

0

0

Dublin City Council

0

0

0

0

Dundalk Town Council

0

0

0

0

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Co. Co.

0

4

0

4

Fingal Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Galway City Council

0

0

0

0

Galway Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Kerry Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Kildare Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Kilkenny Co. Co. & Borough Council

0

0

0

0

Laois Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Leitrim Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Limerick City Council

0

0

0

0

Limerick Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Longford Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Louth Co. Co.

0

0

3

3

Mayo Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Meath Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Monaghan Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

North Tipperary Co. Co.

0

2

7

9

Offaly Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Roscommon Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Sligo Co. Co. & Borough Council

0

0

0

0

South Dublin Co. Co.

0

0

20

20

South Tipperary Co. Co.

0

0

4

4

Waterford City Council

0

0

0

0

Waterford Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Westmeath Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Wexford Borough Council

0

0

0

0

Wexford Co. Co.

0

1

0

1

Wicklow Co. Co. & Bray Town Council

6

0

0

6

Total

6

7

50

63

Number of units of Traveller specific accommodation refurbished
(January-June 2002)

Local Authority

Group Houses

Permanent Halting Site Bays

Bays with BasicServices

Total

Carlow Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Cavan Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Clare Co. Co.

6

0

0

6

Clonmel Borough Council

0

0

0

0

Cork City Council

0

0

0

0

Cork Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Donegal Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Drogheda Borough Council

0

0

0

0

Dublin City Council

30

25

0

55

Local Authority

Group Houses

Permanent Halting Site Bays

Bays with BasicServices

Total

Dundalk Town Council

0

0

0

0

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Fingal Co. Co.

0

0

3

3

Galway City Council

2

0

0

2

Galway Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Kerry Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Kildare Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Kilkenny Co. Co. & Borough Council

0

0

0

0

Laois Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Leitrim Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Limerick City Council

0

0

6

6

Limerick Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Longford Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Louth Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Mayo Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Meath Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Monaghan Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

North Tipperary Co. Co.

0

6

0

6

Offaly Co. Co.

0

8

0

8

Roscommon Co. Co.

2

0

4

6

Sligo Co. Co. & Borough Council

0

0

0

0

South Dublin Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

South Tipperary Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Waterford City Council

0

0

0

0

Waterford Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Westmeath Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Wexford Borough Council

0

0

0

0

Wexford Co. Co.

0

0

0

0

Wicklow Co. Co. & Bray Town Council

0

5

1

6

Total

40

44

14

98

Charlie O'Connor

Question:

397 Mr. O'Connor asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the progress which has been made in the matter of the provision of transient halting sites in the greater Dublin region to meet the needs of the Travelling community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19221/02]

The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998, requires local authorities in carrying out the statutory assessment of needs under section 9 of the Housing Act, 1988, to include a separate assessment for the needs for caravan sites for Travellers. The assessment must include the assessment of need for sites with limited facilities, normally referred to as transient sites, to take account of the annual pattern of movement of Travellers. Under the 1998 Act, each local authority is required to have regard to the need for transient sites as identified in its assessment of need in preparing its Traveller accommodation programme. The majority of programmes indicate that provision will be made for transient sites.

The Traveller accommodation programmes of the local authorities in the greater Dublin area – the four Dublin local authorities, Wicklow, Kildare and Meath county councils – include proposals to provide transient sites within their functional areas during the term of their five-year programmes. My Department has been pressing local authorities particularly in the greater Dublin area to advance the provision of transient halting sites, however, no formal proposal for funding for the provision of transient sites has been received in my Department from any of these local authorities. I understand that these local authorities are at preliminary stages of addressing the provision of transient sites such as site identification and changes to their development plans, where necessary.
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