Travellers’ roadside site ‘gone beyond a joke’

A COUNCIL official in Co Cork has described a large Traveller encampment on the side of a busy main road as having “gone beyond a joke”.

The site was initially thought to have been just a temporary fixture. That was until council officials were told that portable workshops and portable toilets had been moved on to the site.

Officials were surprised to learn from their own public representatives that far from moving on, Traveller numbers had increased in the past few days on a site adjacent to the Mitchelstown bypass.

There are now upwards of 25 caravans on the side of the road.

Councillor Liam O’Doherty (FG) said: “They’ve brought in portable work sheds and portoloos. This has gone beyond a joke. It’s unbelievable the number of vehicles there. It seems as though they’re there to stay.”

Cllr Frank O’Flynn (FF) said a lot of young children were in the encampment and this presented a danger to themselves and passing traffic because they were so near what is a very busy road.

“It looks as if they are wealthy traders,” Cllr Aileen Pyne (FG) commented.

Assistant county manager, Tim Lucey, said both the council and the gardaí were monitoring the situation. He said his understanding was that the Travellers were moving on, but after hearing what the councillors had to say, he promised to look into the situation as a matter of urgency.

Mr O’Doherty wondered if the issue was a matter for the National Roads Authority as the Mitchelstown relief road was part of the main Cork-Dublin road.

Mr Lucey said that traditionally it had been up to local authorities to address such problems.

Travellers representatives groups have consistently said that they have no choice but to park on the side of roads because the county council hasn’t provided a proper number of halting sites in its region.