A network of 1,000 halting sites for Travellers should be established across Ireland by removing the boulders and barricades that block access to suitable areas, says the Irish Traveller Movement.
The organisation yesterday called for more inclusive government policies towards the Travelling community, as part of Traveller Focus Week - a nationwide campaign that began yesterday.
The Government should provide tarmac-surfaced camping sites where Travellers could pay a fee to have waste removed, says the movement.
Ireland's 22,400 Travellers are being denied their traditional nomadic lifestyle by access restrictions and trespass laws, said Damian Peelo, the director of the movement. He said the denial of their right to travel was a type of discrimination that equated to racism. Housing and planning laws need to be changed to permit nomadic lifestyles.
"It's impossible," said Mr Peelo. "The legislation currently criminalises nomadism. Many of the traditional sites are either locked up or have been taken by the growth of cities."
The network of facilities could be managed by the provision of a national Traveller accommodation agency, says the movement.
"This is in keeping with the 1995 taskforce report recommendation, which stated that such an agency would act as the proper vehicle to secure the delivery of Traveller accommodation," said Mr Peelo.
He said that only a small proportion of Travellers were nomadic, but the majority wanted to be able to roam.
"Nomadism continues to be very important to most Irish Travellers whether they themselves are nomadic or not," he said.
Both the Department of Justice and the Department of Rural Affairs declined to comment on the issue. A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said the issue was in the hands of local councils.
Dublin City Council say that there is not a demand for temporary halting sites within the city limits, but they do provide cheap housing and preferential treatment for Travellers.
Mr Peelo said that problems associated with halting sites - like illegal dumping - were often not the fault of Travellers. Local councils refused to provide refuse collection, he said, and some settled people used the proximity of halting sites as an excuse to dump their own garbage.
Dublin City Council say they provide free garbage collection and a "cleansing caretaker" at each halting site in the city.
Traveller Focus Week will see more than 30 events taking place across the country to highlight and discuss aspects of Traveller culture including arts and culture, accommodation, education, building relationships and Traveller youth.