Christmas with lights and running water should not be such a special occasion in one of Europe's most successful economies, but for 15 Traveller families in Galway it certainly is.
The families have been moved from a rat-infested halting site next to the old city dump at Carrowbrowne to a temporary, purpose-built location linked to both mains electricity and water supplies.
Galway City Council plans to refurbish the Carrowbrowne site on the Headford road, and voted before Christmas 2004 to ensure that the location had mains electricity.
Three years later, Green Party councillor Niall Ó Brolchain, chairman of the council's Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee has welcomed the fact that many of the young children will now experience electricity for the first time this month.
The council has marked the occasion with a Christmas tree, and the lights were officially switched on by the Labour mayor, Cllr Tom Costello.
Four-year-old Christy Stokes, a member of one of the families which have moved to the temporary base close to Carrowbrowne, was delighted to note that the tree was beside his trailer. "Santa Claus is going to bring me a motor car," he said.
The Galway Traveller Movement has welcomed the development, and has paid tribute to those who had to wait so long for provision of basic necessities.
The temporary site has a play area for children and a Portakabin which can be used to provide homework support. It is also much healthier and safer, the group notes.
In a separate development, some 1,300 residents in the Barna area of Galway were without electricity for more than three hours on Saturday night, due to a faulty piece of equipment on the 10,000 volt system.
The ESB said that power was restored to the last customer by 10pm.
