TRAVELLER Community members from St Margaret’s Park in Ballymun, with support from Travellers from Coolock, held a picket last week at the site of the new DCC super depot on St Margaret’s Road.
The group say the reason for their picket, which took place over five days last week, is because Dublin City Council has failed to honour an agreement between the communities and the local authority.
“DCC haven’t held up their side of our agreement regarding our communities immediate and long-term accommodation needs,” a spokesperson for the St Margaret’s Park residents told Northside People.
“Nothing much has changed in one year, DCC are not listening to us, we’ve been trying to get them to do something with our site but they continue to ignore us.
“The site is currently overpopulated, there are 45-50 families now living there with only 30 bays.
“People were told to pick out houses by the council, then when they picked the houses were told fairly quickly ‘oh sorry someone has just bid and that house has just been bought’.
“There are people working in Dublin City Council who are supposed to be helping us who haven’t showed their face to us.
“The way we are being treated is an absolute disgrace to humanity.
“There have been repeated failures by councils to spend Traveller accommodation budgets.
“Dublin City Council, which has more than 200 Traveller families in homeless accommodation or on unofficial sites, has not sought to build a halting site since 2013.”
John McDonagh, a resident of St Margaret’s Park for almost a decade, said he plans on staying on the picket ‘for as long as it takes.’
“DCC are trying to ignore us, just like they have done for the past 21 years” Mr McDonagh told Northside People.
“Just to be clear for any of your readers, our motive behind this protest is to build bridges, not barriers, for conversation not conflict.
“We want to move with Dublin City Council towards solutions, not problems.
“There are serious health and safety concerns now in St Margaret’s Park, it is very dangerous due to being overcrowded.
“This is very stressful, as you could imagine, for all the families living there.
“We will keep fighting until we get what we were promised.
“We just want respect, the same as anyone else, is that too much to ask for?
“We just want the council to tell the truth and stop telling us lies.”
Northside People contacted Dublin City Council for a comment in relation to this story, a spokesperson told us:
“Dublin City Council’s Traveller Accommodation Unit are aware of a recent blockade at the site of the new North City Operations Depot.
“This blockade has now ceased.
“Plans to redevelop the St Margaret’s Park Halting Site are underway and meetings between residents and Dublin City Council have been arranged to progress.
“Maintenance works and waste removal services are provided to occupants of the site on a daily basis.
“Significant upgrade works have been completed on site over the last 18mths.
“The staff of the Traveller Accommodation Unit engage daily, with occupants on all of our sites – including St Margaret’s Park.
“The Traveller Accommodation Unit looks forward to working with the occupants of St Margaret’s Park to provide good quality, sustainable housing through the planned redevelopment.”