40% rise in number of Traveller families

THERE are now almost 9,500 Traveller families in the country, up more than 40% since the number of families was first recorded in 2002, new figures have revealed.

The rise has been occurring year on year, from 6,289 in 2002, to a high of 9,470 households which was recorded in November of last year.

Based on the conservative estimate of four people per household that means there are at least 38,000 Travellers in the country.

According to the Department of the Environment figures, outside Dublin the highest concentration of Traveller families is in Galway city and county — where there is 1,072 families — and Cork, where there is 761 families in the city and county.

Other areas with high concentrations of Traveller families include Wexford, which has 608 families, and Limerick which has 514.

In Dublin, combining the four local authorities there are 1,661 Traveller families.

The biggest challenge faced by local authorities in recent years is adequately housing Travellers, although significant funding has been made available by the department for the provision of Traveller-specific accommodation.

Between 2000 and 2008 €272m was spent on providing Traveller accommodation. In 2010, €16.1m was spent building and refurbishing halting sites and Traveller-specific group housing schemes, single instance purchases and caravan grants.

The 2011 allocation for the same is €15m.

However, the 2010 count shows that the number of travellers living in local authority housing is increasing and the numbers living on halting sites is decreasing.

Of the 9,470 households, the accommodation of 5,634 families is provided for by the local authorities in one way or another. An estimated 2,380 families live in private rented accommodation.

More than 440 families still live on “unauthorised sites”, meaning they are parked illegally in caravans and living in very basic conditions often with no toilet or running water.

According to the Irish Traveller Movement this means about 2,000 people are living in “hazardous and deplorable” conditions.

The ITM maintains the that local authorities have failed to deliver on programmes underpinned by the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998.

The Act which requires each major housing authority to draw up, adopt, and implement multi-annual Traveller accommodation programmes, with the aim of accelerating the provision of accommodation.

The most recent was drawn up in early 2009 when local authorities adopted a third round of accommodation programmes which will cover the period 2009-2013.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, the EU’s Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern at the state’s “persistent refusal” to recognise Travellers as an ethnic minority despite its earlier recommendations, and pointed out that they satisfied the internationally recognised criteria for such a group.

Distribution

- Dublin: 1,661 families

- Galway: 1,072

- Cork: 761

- Wexford: 608

- Limerick: 514

- Mayo: 377

- Waterford: 174