Council forced to spend extra €450,000 on Traveller sites

A LOCAL authority was forced to spend an extra €450,000 on Traveller accommodation over its budget allocation following damage on sites and high legal costs for the first six months of the year.

Clare County Council’s finance officer, Niall Barrett, has confirmed critical maintenance and security situations arising from some damage done on Traveller accommodation sites and legal costs arising from recent court cases has resulted in expenditure exceeding budget.

Unlike previous expenditure on Traveller accommodation, Mr Barrett has stated the additional expenditure will not be recoverable from the Department of the Environment.