TRAVELLERS from Dublin 15 and Finglas spearheaded a peaceful protest outside Fingal County Council’s offices in Blanchardstown last week calling on local authorities to provide them with accommodation.
Travellers say they’re facing a national accommodation crisis caused by the
“failure
? of local authorities to meet housing targets and a series of devastating cuts to Traveller accommodation budgets.
The protestors were supporting an extended Traveller family who have been living for 15 years in an unofficial halting site in Finglas with no access to running water or electricity.
Speaking at the protest, Geraldine McDonnell, from Dunsink Lane, described the conditions her family have been living in since the late 1990s.
“We have been living for 15 years with no electricity, proper toilet or shower facilities,
? she said.
“In that time it has been very difficult trying to feed the babies born with the light of a candle in very cold conditions.
“We use a portable toilet and our water supply for 14 families comes from one slow dripping outside tap which has to be boiled before use.
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Ms McDonnell said the family had been cooperative with the council and claimed several promises of permanent accommodation over the years had come to nothing.
“All our children attend the local schools and GAA clubs and some years back the council offered us a totally isolated location far from schools, shops etc. which we had no choice but to reject,
? she added.
“However, a more suitable offer was made some years later with available funding but they never followed through on it. Throughout the years we have been in regular contact with many TDs, Ministers for the Environment, Taoisigh and numerous councillors, but 15 years later we are still living in these terrible conditions.
“We have held out for so long as a family in hope that we would be accommodated in nothing other than clean, warm, permanent Traveller accommodation with proper facilities and schools nearby.
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Fingal County Council said it offered the McDonnell family group Traveller specific accommodation but the offers had been rejected.
“Nonetheless, providing accommodation for this family remains a priority for Fingal County Council and we remain in regular dialogue with them,
? a spokesperson said.
“A proposal for their accommodation is included in the draft Fingal County Council Traveller Accommodation Programme 2014-2018.
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Last week’s protest was organised by Blanchardstown Travellers’ Development Group and Finglas Travellers’ Group and supported by the Irish Traveller Movement, the National Traveller Women’s Forum, Minceirs Whiden, Pavee Point and Involve.
Manager of the Blanchardstown Traveller Development Group, Catherine Joyce Collins, said local authorities had failed to deliver on Traveller-specific accommodation nationwide.
“The Irish Government’s lack of prioritisation of and investment in this area has had a dramatic impact on the Travelling community and in particular on Traveller children,
? she said.
“We make up less than one per cent of the Irish population so providing well serviced accommodation for all Traveller families who need it is not an unrealistic aim.
?
She continued:
“In many cases funding allocated to local authorities has not been drawn down and thus Travellers are left with no other option than private rented accommodation which does not always suit their needs.
“Authorities are required to implement an accommodation programme that would include this range of accommodation provision as well as standard local authority housing for Travellers who would prefer it.
“Lack of recognition of Travellers’ ethnicity and identity has lead to poorly planned accommodation strategies and a steady erosion of Traveller culture.
“This protest aims to highlight the lack of provision of Traveller-specific accommodation nationwide and calls for greater recognition of and consultation with Travellers in the development and implementation of accommodation strategies.
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Fingal County Council said it recognises Travellers’ cultural identity as a minority group and works to accommodate Travellers in a culturally appropriate way, catering for their social needs.
“Between 2007 and 2012, Fingal County Council spent e8.4 million providing and e9.5m maintaining and managing Traveller Specific Accommodation in Fingal,
? the spokesperson said.
“Through our Traveller Accommodation Programme, since 2005, the council has provided 52 high quality Traveller specific homes across six sites.
“These homes are provided in consultation with the Travelling Community, in either group housing schemes or halting sites. Many Traveller families have also been accommodated, at their own request, in over 300 local authority homes.
“The draft Traveller Accommodation Programme 2014-2018 plans to provide six further new Traveller specific sites and to refurbish existing sites to upgrade the quality of accommodation for families living there.
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