LOCAL AUTHORITY Traveller accommodation programmes that contain policies to provide accommodation only for “indigenous” Travellers are in breach of the Equal Status Act, according to the Irish Traveller Movement .
The four Dublin local authorities contain “indigenous” clauses in their Traveller accommodation programmes. These state that any Traveller applying for Traveller-specific accommodation must be resident in the local authority area for at least three years immediately before the adoption of the programme.
All Traveller accommodation programmes must be adopted by the end of April this year and will run until 2013. Those applying for ordinary social housing are given priority in the same way as the general population.
Limerick County Council and Clare County Council also have indigenous clauses.
Damien Peelo, director of the Irish Traveller Movement, said he understood a policy of specific accommodation for “indigenous” Travellers was in breach of the Equal Status Act 2000.
He understood that local authorities could have an allocation protocol that gave priority to people who lived in the area for certain time periods, but it could not directly discriminate against those who were there for a shorter time.
“A similar policy does not operate for members of the settled community,” he said.
He said the policy effectively discriminated against Travellers who wished to travel and was a subtle form of oppression.
“It is a crazy system, it is wrong and unjust and local authorities should remove it,” he said. “We will be writing to all local authorities asking them to withdraw this policy from their plans.”
The four Dublin councils said they did not accept the policy was in breach of the Act.
A Fingal County Council spokeswoman said the policy had been tested in the High Court. It only referred to Traveller-specific accommodation and did not prevent Travellers from applying for social housing, she said. The council had worked closely with the Traveller community in its area and was satisfied the policy was working well.
A spokesman for Dublin City Council said it sent a copy of the draft programme to the Irish Traveller Movement last October, but it did not comment on it. He also said the High Court had found the policy to be reasonable.
A South Dublin County Council spokesman said it was providing accommodation to Travellers in its area to whom it owed a duty of care. If a Traveller family arrived in the area during the five years of the programme, they could apply for every sort of accommodation except Traveller-specific accommodation.
A spokesman for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council said the clause was introduced in order to safeguard members of the Traveller community who were long-term residents of the county and who required housing.
A spokesman for Clare County Council said the council was giving priority to those who were waiting for accommodation in their area.
