Councils urged to step up on Traveller housing
Paudie Coffey’s comments come as negotiations between Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and the residents of a south Dublin street continue over the housing of Travellers displaced by last weekend’s fire, which claimed the lives of 10 people in Carrickmines.
Funerals for the 10 victims are expected to take place in Wexford and Wicklow this week.
“Local authorities under law are the responsible bodies for housing Travellers and essentially policy is set nationally by my department,” said Mr Coffey.
However, Mr Coffey said that he was not in favour of changing the status quo to a situation whereby central government makes decisions on local Traveller accommodation arrangements.
“I believe that imposing instructions or dictats onto local authorities or indeed onto communities, I believe that could create more resistance and I think that it is by deep engagement and by building capacity and assurance in communities that you will achieve more progress,” he told This Week on RTÉ Radio 1.
“They have devolved power in this respective area. You all the time hear of local authorities looking for more devolved powers, well here they have a responsibility and I think they have to step up to the mark in regards to that.
“I’ll be monitoring closely the progress of local authorities and I am saying quite clearly, we expect them, where they are being provided with funding, to draw down that funding to provide those facilities for those that need them,” he said.
Mr Coffey also said it was possible that a safety audit of existing Traveller accommodation facilities around the country could see Travellers moved to alternative accommodation in the event where existing facilities are not up to standard.
“To be realistic, I don’t think we can rule that out. If there are shortcomings identified and people have to be moved offsite then accommodation will have to be found elsewhere,” Mr Coffey said.
Meanwhile, TD for Dublin South and Communications Minister Alex White has called on the Rockville Drive residents to show “generosity in the face of tragedy” and said there needs to be trust on both sides.
“I think the discussions are still going on this weekend, I really hope that people can see their way to reaching agreement on this. The proposal from the council is a six-month arrangement,” he told Marian Finucane on RTÉ Radio 1.
“We live in the real world as well, we understand the fears that people have and the concerns, sometimes perhaps real, sometimes perceived. But can people be as generous as they find it in their hearts this weekend.”
Speaking on the same programme, Independent TD for Roscommon-South Leitrim Michael Fitzmaurice said an independent intermediary was needed to solve the impasse, as councils have broken promises in the past.
“Let’s be honest as a nation, there is an outpouring of grief for that family, but if you went to 99%of people and said ‘Hi, can I have the field there next door? I need it as a halting site’, they would tell you what to do, that’s the reality of it. Lets be honest about it, there’s no point in living in a cuckoo world,” he said.
