Traveller Accommodation in Ireland: Review of Policy and Practice

115 Pages·2012·1.16 MB·English

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isbn: 978-1-903848-27-2
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Housing Policy Discussion Series
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 Possible 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