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Traveller Accommodation in Ireland: Review of Policy and Practice Housing Policy Discussion Series Traveller Accommodation in Ireland: Review of Policy and Practice Price €7.50 isbn: 978-1-903848-27-2 Centre for Housing Research Training and Administration 57–61 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 4 Ionad Taighde ar Thithíocht t 01.240 3600 f o1.668 9135 e [email protected] Research and Director’s Office Floor 2, Block 4, Irish Life Centre w www.chr.ie Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1 t 01.889 8250 f 01.872 6818 3 Other Publications research reports • Housing Policy Review 1990-2002 • Mixed Tenure Estates: Development, Design, Management & Outcomes • Profiles of Households Accommodated by Dublin City Council • The Housing Management Initiatives Grants Scheme: An Evaluation • Supplementary Welfare Allowance, Rent Supplement: Implications for the Implementation of the Rental Accommodation Scheme • Supporting Low-income Homebuyers in Ireland, 1990-2003: Profile, Policy and Issues • Traveller-Specific Accommodation: Practice, Design and Management good practice guidelines • Housing Refugees • Managing in Partnership: Enabling Tenant Participation in Housing Estate Management • Preventing and Combating Anti- Social Behaviour • Repair and Maintenance of Dwellings • Rent Assessment, Collection, Accounting and Arrears Control • Training and Information for Tenants • Void Management • Regenerating Estates, Rebuilding Vibrant Communities • Standards in the Private Rented Sector: Strategic Planning, Effective Enforcement • Management and Maintenance of Traveller-Specific Accommodation policy discussion series • Regenerating Local Authority Housing Estates: Review of Policy and Practice • Traveller Accommodation in Ireland: Review of Policy and Practice All publications are available on our website www.chr.ie Housing Policy Discussion Series 3 Traveller Accommodation in Ireland: Review of Policy and Practice Authors: Dermot Coates, Fiona Kane and Dr Kasey Treadwell Shine November 2008 Written by Dermot Coates Fiona Kane Dr Kasey Treadwell Shine © Centre for Housing Research 2008 Research and Director’s Office Training and Administration Floor 2, Block 4 57-61 Lansdowne Road, Irish Life Centre Dublin 4 Dublin 1 t 01.240 3600 f 01.668 9135 t 01.889 8250 f 01.872 6818 E [email protected] W www.chr.ie isbn: 978-1-903848-27-2 The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre for Housing Research Board of Management or funding organisations. This document is not intended to be a legal interpretation of any existing legislation or to be a legal instruction in relation to procedure. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publishers. Contents section title page Foreword vii 1 Introduction 1 2 The International Context 7 2.1 Introduction 7 2.2 International Perspectives on Irish Travellers and Traveller Accommodation 8 2.3 Accommodating Travellers in the UK 14 2.4 Similarities and Differences between Irish and UK Traveller Accommodation Policy Contexts 19 3 Profile of Travellers and Traveller Accommodation 23 3.1 Introduction 23 3.2 Profile of Travellers and Traveller Accommodation 24 3.3 Conclusion 32 4 Policy and Practice Issues 35 4.1 Introduction 35 4.2 Historical Context 36 4.3 Policy Development 37 4.4 Wider Influences on Policy and Practice 45 4.5 Legislative Context 51 4.6 Financial Context 53 4.7 Other Developments Affecting Approaches around Traveller-related Issues and Services to Travellers 71 5 Quality of Life 75 5.1 Policy and Practice at Local Level: Implementation Deficits 76 5.2 P ossible Ways Forward: Quality of Life Concerns and ‘Successful’ 78 Appendix 1: Additional Tables 84 References 95 List of Tables number title page 1 Summary of Accommodation of Traveller Families, 2007 27 2 Traveller Families Accommodated as a Percentage of the target set in the Local Traveller Accommodation Programme 31 3 Trends in Allocation and Drawdown of Capital Funding, 2004-2005 54 4 Capital Expenditure by Local Authority Type, 2005 58 5 Management and Maintenance Costs by Local Authority Type, 2005 61 6 Changes in Population and Expenditure Type by Local Authority, 2004-2005 62 7 Average Spend per Traveller Household as at November Census, 2004 and 2005 64 8 Capital Stock Delivered, 2005 67 9 Sample Construction Costs in Two Local Authorities 70 List of Figures number title page 1 Breakdown of Traveller Family Accommodation, 2002-2007 28 2 Percent Totals of Applications for Capital Funding, 2005, County Councils 60 Foreword Traveller accommodation is a difficult area for local authorities to get right. Traveller families’ needs and preferences vary, can be difficult to clarify and if clear can be difficult to realise. Accessing appropriate sites throws up challenges; likewise the design and planning stages, construction, on-going management and maintenance, and inter-agency co-operation. Where Traveller- specific accommodation works well it seems to work very well, but when it does not the results are all too visible and profound. One of the key objectives of the Centre for Housing Research is to enable local authorities to develop a more responsive housing service. It is in this context that the Centre undertook the current work on Traveller accommodation. The work is presented in three distinct but interrelated reports: < This Review of Policy and Practice (Coates et al, 2008) < A Research Report (Treadwell Shine et al, 2008) and < Good Practice Guidelines (Kane et al, 2008) vii Much has been achieved in recent years in the provision of quality Traveller accommodation, but there remain too many examples of situations where policy objectives are not being realised on the ground. It has been argued in this work that focusing on quality of life may be a way to move forward in the management and maintenance of Traveller-specific accommodation. A core feature of this work has been the development and application of an indicator system to measure various aspects of Traveller accommodation provision. It is hoped that the indicator system might provide a framework on which national standards could be developed and agreed. I would like to thank the authors of these three reports, Dermot Coates, Fiona Kane and Kasey Treadwell Shine, for the considerable advancement in our understanding of the relevant issues that they have facilitated through their work. Elena Moore helped with data collection while on a student placement with the Centre. I would like to thank officials from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for providing data and commenting on earlier drafts of the reports. The researchers drew on the expertise and experience of many Traveller families and organisations representing their interests, local authority officials and other service providers, and I would like to thank all those who gave of their time to help in the completion of this work. I would also like to thank Clare Curley of South Tipperary County Council for comments on an earlier draft of the reports. David Silke Director September 2008 viii section one g gggg Introduction The understanding of the needs of Travellers for Traveller-specific accommodation (e.g. halting sites, group housing, etc) and the public policy responses to such needs have evolved incrementally over the course of recent decades. MacLaughlin (1995) linked the debates on Irish culture and identity that occurred in the mid-nineteenth century with the first significant expression of interest by the wider Irish society in Irish Travellers and their traditions. However, questions relating to the accommodation and living conditions of Irish Travellers did not take hold of the Irish consciousness until a century later, in the 1960s. Since that time, wider societal and government perspectives on Traveller accommodation (and, by extension, Traveller living conditions) have shifted significantly. Broadly speaking these views have evolved from one that prioritises solving the ‘problem of itinerancy’, with an associated policy context of assimilating Travellers into mainstream Settled society. Current perspectives tend to prioritise a more heterogeneous view that recognises Traveller differences, with an associated policy context of providing Traveller-specific accommodation options. The legislative, financial and related contexts with respect to Traveller accommodation have also changed over time to reflect and support these altered perspectives. This evolution has been shaped by a number of key developments including, but not limited to, the following: 1 < The Report of the Task Force on the Travelling Community (Task Force on the Travelling Community, 1995) < The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 and associated legislation < The Report of the High Level Group on Traveller Issues (DoJELR, 2006) Moreover, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government’s (DoEHLG) housing policy statement Delivering Homes: Sustaining Communities (2007) sets as a key objective that communities should be sustainable. In accordance with the Bristol Accord, agreed by an Informal Council of EU Ministers (2005), sustainable communities are defined as places where ‘people want to live and work, now and in the future’. The DoEHLG considers that such places will be of a high quality as regards the natural and built environment, the diverse needs of residents

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