Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Travellers’ Accommodation in Northern Ireland FULL REPORT March 2018 Travellers’ Accommodation in Northern Ireland Foreword 1 “Out of sight, out of mind”, the comment of a Councillor in Derry City and Strabane District Council neatly encapsulates the inertia and decline in developing Travellers’ accommodation and services. Our human rights investigation is the fi rst major examination of the issue for almost a decade and the fi ndings remain depressingly familiar. As a representative of South Tyrone Empowerment Programme noted “we have read reports from 1999 that are as relevant today, as they were in 1999. It has not moved on”. This Groundhog Day does not have to continue. First, there are a number of important quick wins – the ‘Design Guide for Traveller Sites in Northern Ireland’ is now over 20 years old and needs updated and modernised, site licencing arrangements need to be put into effect and groundwork needs to be undertaken to ensure that the ‘Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment’ due next year effectively involves Travellers and becomes part of a comprehensive gathering of data towards an evidence based policy approach to meeting Travellers’ accommodation needs. In the longer term, there needs to be suffi cient emergency halting, transit and serviced sites, properly supported, to meet Travellers’ needs and a pro-active and participative approach to making this happen. In line with the approach taken in the Northern Ireland Executive’s ‘Programme for Government’, this investigation charts the impact of the actions taken and omissions made by government departments and public authorities. The inexorable impact of public policy has been to leave many Travellers with an unpalatable choice of retaining their culture while living in poor housing conditions or move into social housing. While for some Travellers, social housing is their choice of accommodation, for others it is not. Traveller culture is rich and vibrant and should be nurtured, rather than eroded through housing and other policies. The aim of the investigation has been to use a human rights based lens to view the current circumstances applying to Travellers’ accommodation. The investigation seeks practical immediate and longer-term answers to meet the needs for suffi cient Travellers’ accommodation. The Commission will engage with all the key public bodies with a role to play and encourage effective communication with Travellers and Traveller support organisations to ensure an effective, participative and joined up approach to resolving the problems identifi ed in the report. We will monitor the progress of our recommendations in the fi rst instance over the next 12 months – and for those of greatest urgency over six months. We have provided an Appendix setting out the list of recommendations that apply to each public authority, so that the way forward and where responsibility lies is clear and unequivocal. Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues Dr Hannah Russell and Fiona O’Connell who undertook the investigation and to all the public authorities, civil society organisations, Travellers and others who willingly provided their experience and knowledge. I trust their insights will bear fruit as a result of this investigation. Les Allamby, Chief Commissioner Travellers’ Accommodation in Northern Ireland Contents 3 Foreword 1 Acronyms 5 Overview 7 Investigation Powers of the Northern Ireland Human Rights 7 The Case for an Investigation 7 Who are Travellers? 8 What is Travellers’ Accommodation? 8 Human Rights Laws and Standards 9 The Methodology 16 The Report 20 1 Culturally Adequate 21 Human Rights Laws and Standards 22 Type of Travellers’ Accommodation in NI 25 Homelessness 33 Cultural Adequacy of Travellers’ Accommodation 35 2 Accessibility 45 Human Rights Laws and Standards 46 Scope of Statutory Duty 49 Provision of Travellers’ Accommodation 50 Assessment and Allocation Process 56 Barriers 61 3 Habitability 65 Human Rights Laws and Standards 66 Standard of Fitness 69 Maintenance 76 Adaptations 81 Health and Safety: Hazards 82 Health and Safety: Fire 86 4 Availability of Services, Facilities and Infrastructure 91 Human Rights Laws and Standards 92 Services 96 Facilities 104 Infrastructure: Roads and Pavements 109 5 Security of Tenure 111 Human Rights Laws and Standards 111 Legal Security of Tenure 113 6 Forced Eviction, Harassment and Other Threats 121 Human Rights Laws and Standards 122 Evictions 125 Unauthorised Encampments 134 Travellers’ Accommodation in Northern Ireland 4 Contents 7 Affordability 141 Human Rights Laws and Standards 142 Travellers’ Accommodation and Affordability 144 8 Location 149 Human Rights Laws and Standards 150 Planning 151 Site Licences 163 Infrastructure 169 Health and Safety 170 9 Participation 173 Human Rights Law and Standards 174 Effective Participation 179 10 Monitoring 199 Human Rights Laws and Standards 200 Monitoring Public Authorities 203 Monitoring Need for Travellers’ Accommodation 207 Management of Travellers’ Accommodation 211 11 Resources 217 Human Rights Laws and Standards 218 Adequate Resources 221 12 Non-Discrimination and Equality 239 Human Rights Laws and Standards 240 Prohibition on Racial Discrimination 244 Promotion of Equality of Opportunity 252 13 Tolerance and Mutual Understanding 263 Human Rights Laws and Standards 264 Promotion of Tolerance and Mutual Understanding 267 14 Effective Remedy 279 Human Rights Law and Standards 279 Complaints Procedures 280 15 Conclusions and Recommendations 287 Systemic Issues 288 Recommendations 290 Appendix I – Recommendations by Public Authority 307 Travellers’ Accommodation in Northern Ireland Acronyms 5 CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CERD Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination CFREU Charter of Fundamental Rights of the Europe Union CoE Council of Europe CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CRPD Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ECHR European Convention on Human Rights ECtHR European Court of Human Rights ECRI European Commission against Racism and Intolerance EU European Union FCNM Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights NI Northern Ireland NIHRC Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission UK United Kingdom UN United Nations UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Travellers’ Accommodation in Northern Ireland Overview 7 Investigation Powers of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) was established following the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement under the Northern Ireland Act 1998. Section 69 of the Act empowers the NIHRC to conduct investigations and to compel evidence.1 The NIHRC promotes and protects those human rights, which the United Kingdom (UK) is legally committed to at the national, regional and international levels and does so in full conformity with the United Nations (UN) Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions (the Paris Principles).2 The findings and recommendations in this report are presented in line with the NIHRC’s statutory duty to review the adequacy and effectiveness of law and practice relating to the protection of human rights in Northern Ireland (NI).3 The Case for an Investigation The NIHRC initiated this investigation following a scoping exercise in June 2016 that identified issues, which required further examination. First, within the UK (including NI) there was a recognised “shortage of adequate stopping sites for Roma/ Gypsies and Irish Travellers”.4 Second, the ICESCR Committee was concerned that “the lack of social housing has forced households to move into the private rental sector, which is not adequate in terms of affordability, habitability, accessibility and security of tenure”.5 The Committee had repeatedly called for “the provision of sufficient, adequate and secure” culturally appropriate accommodation to be ensured.6 Third, the NIHRC had previously raised concerns that the legislative requirement on the NI Housing Executive to obtain site licences from local Councils could “create practical difficulties in ensuring adequate site provision”.7 Fourth, there appears to be a disparity between official figures on the number of Travellers residing in NI and the figures used by other sources. This potentially makes it difficult to create and evaluate appropriate policies and strategies, particularly regarding housing. Fifth, the ICESCR Committee expressed concern at how the Unauthorised Encampments (NI) Order 2005 “makes Roma/Gypsies and Irish Travellers liable to be evicted from their homes, to have their homes destroyed and then to be imprisoned and/or fined”.8 The Committee has called for this legislation to be repealed.9 1 Sections 69(8) and 69A NI Act 1998, as amended by the Justice and Security (NI) Act 2007. During this investigation, the NIHRC did not however use its formal investigatory powers due to the high levels of cooperation from the public authorities involved. 2 A/RES/48/134, ‘UN General Assembly Resolution: National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights’, 4 March 1994. 3 Sections 69(1) and 69(8A), NI Act 1998. 4 E/C.12/GBR/CO/5, ‘ICESCR Committee Concluding Observations on the Fifth Periodic Report of the UK of Great Britain and NI’, 22 May 2009, at para 30. 5 Ibid, E/C.12/GBR/CO/6, ‘ICESCR Committee