Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 November 2004
111 Mr. Hayes asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the work he has undertaken with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, health boards and other agencies since June 2002 to ensure that his Department’s services are provided in a manner that is appropriate to the needs of Travellers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28127/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraA high level group on Travellers issues was set up by the Cabinet committee on social inclusion and consists of senior officials from a number of Government Departments and agencies. My Department is represented on the group. The aim of the group is to develop approaches to improve service delivery to Travellers, in particular through inter-agency co-operation. The high level group provides a forum in which agencies can address issues and share experiences in providing services to Travellers.
The primary focus of the group is to address the issue of Travellers on the roadside and to explore what can be done to address their needs in the short, medium and long term. The issue of accommodation for Travellers is a key issue. Travellers are at significant risk of social exclusion and suffer high levels of poverty. Most Travellers are in receipt of income support from my Department through unemployment assistance or payment for one parent families.
Proof of residency is a requirement for the processing of a claim under the social welfare code and it is necessary to validate the information provided by our customers. For many members of the Traveller community there are particular difficulties in establishing the facts necessary to decide on claims. My officials co-operate on an ongoing basis with the local authorities about the issues around residency of individual Travellers. My officials also work closely with other service providers, such as the housing sections of local authorities and the Traveller units in health boards. This co-operation aims to establish facts quickly and so speed up the necessary processing of claims and ensure payment is made as quickly as possible to those entitled to receive it.
The high level group is currently looking at a number of initiatives by local authorities aimed at overcoming the barriers to the provision of adequate accommodation to members of the Traveller community. These initiatives require a multi-agency approach and my Department is playing its role in identifying the data that can lead to the targeting of resources to those in greatest need. Solving the accommodation issue for Travellers will contribute to tackling the issues which arise under the social inclusion agenda. It will also help in improving the delivery of a proper service to these customers, particularly in the area of claim processing.
