As I said earlier on Second Stage – it is a shame to be dealing with Committee and Report Stages in one sitting – section 21 has nothing to do with this Bill. It is about nuisance, obstruction, trespass and interference with the quality of water, sanitary, electrical and other services. There was absolutely no hint that this extraneous amendment would be introduced by the Minister. It arrived out of the blue. No one knew about it, including the bodies whom the Minister of State agreed to consult in a process which was provided for under the social partnership. Structures were put in place, and are still in place, for consultations but these have not taken place.
The problem with the legislation is that it was introduced at the last moment and we are expected to rush it through without question. The same thing happened last night on the Education for Persons with Disabilities Bill when the consultation process was not entered into. How can this legislation be finalised in one day?
I listened earlier to an extremely heated argument on the "Joe Duffy Show" where the former Minister of State, Deputy Flood, was defending his position on refraining from voting in the other House on this issue. The reasons he gave were very cogent, that is, that the local authorities were negligent in the provision of housing for Travellers. Of the 2,200 units committed by the task force in 1995, only in the region of 100 have been provided. Some 95% of these units have not been embarked on by the local authorities.
A sledge hammer approach is being used in regard to all Travellers. These people are being treated in a criminal fashion in that they can be moved from a particular site within 24 hours. Some of these sites may be quite innocuous. We are not talking about wholescale encampments by Travellers. If that is what is being referred to then the legislation should be geared to deal with criminal abuse and activity, which is not the case. It is geared towards tarring all Travellers with the same brush. These are nomadic people who may move from one position on a roadside to another, particularly as the houses, halting sites, hard stands and units of accommodation have not been provided. It is a bit rich to introduce this criminalising legislation.
A later section of the Bill contains very heavy powers of arrest without warrant. How many citizens of this country can be arrested without a warrant? It would not happen to major fraudsters, paedophiles or those guilty of even the most heinous crimes, yet anybody deemed in violation of this legislation can be arrested without a warrant after 24 hours.
I do not like the manner in which this legislation is being put through. It will cause endless conflict between the Traveller community, the Garda and local authorities because local authorities will call in the Garda if they perceive breaches of this legislation. The Bill will exacerbate confrontation throughout the country. The summer months are coming, and as Senator Norris said in his fine Irish:
Anois teacht an earraigh beidh an lá ag dul chun síneadh,
Is tar éis na Féile Bríde ardóidh mé mo sheol.
The spring is coming, the days are getting longer and the spailpín fánach, the wandering labourer, is planning to travel around the country. Travellers are so-called because travelling is what they do. If they do not have a proper place or various facilities at which to stop, they will stop at the side of the road or wherever.
I support legislation that would target those who are abusing their position, who pretend to be Travellers looking for halting sites but instead establish encampments, whether on sports fields or amenity areas, and extort money from residents. That is not tolerable and has to be condemned. However, this legislation will not have such a focused impact. The trawl is so wide that every Traveller in the country will be affected by it. I advise the Minister, even at this late stage, to withdraw this legislation and to pass it on to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform so that it can be examined separately. This is already taking place under the task force monitoring group in consultation with Travellers, who are in favour of legislation specifically to deal with those who abuse their position.
Including these measures in a Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill merely exposes the erratic provision of housing for the Traveller community by local authorities. The Bill provides for heavy sanctions on the Traveller community in general and depicts all Travellers as potential criminals.