City council’s duty of care to evicted Travellers

WE wish to bring attention to the Traveller accommodation crisis in Waterford. Eleven Traveller families were evicted from Kilbarry halting site by the city council on September 7.

These families are living on the side of the road and include vulnerable and sick children. They face the winter without water, sanitation, electricity and accommodation. A baby girl was born to one of these families last week. She will join her family on the side of the road.

It is time we, as citizens of the Celtic Tiger economy, addressed why basic human rights are being denied Travellers on an ongoing basis. Have we made any progress in our attitudes and behaviour to Travellers in the areas of health, education and human rights?

Waterford city council officials say they are doing an “assessment” of these families’ needs.

However, it is clear that no Irish citizen should be forced to live in these conditions.

Is such a ‘needs assessment’ exercise a smokescreen for inaction and delay such as we see in other services?

These families need immediate action and the city council needs to be held accountable for its lack of action.

The city council has created this crisis by its failure to deliver a single unit of Traveller-specific accommodation in its previous five-year Traveller accommodation programme.

As educators, we are deeply concerned about this issue and call on the city council to recognise and act on their duty of care to Traveller families.

We would ask all individuals and organisations who have a core belief in human rights to use whatever power they have to demand that Waterford city council provide immediate care for these Irish citizens.

Dr Anne Rath

Education Department

UCC

Dr Audrey Bryan

School of Education and Lifelong Learning

UCD

Elaine Keane

UCG