The Irish Traveller Movement (ITM) yesterday demanded that new legislation allowing gardaí to remove and confiscate caravans without a court order be put aside until local authorities provide adequate accommodation for Travellers.
Mr Thomas McCann of the ITM said: "The Government task force on the Travelling community has stated that 2,200 units of Traveller accommodation be provided, and so far only 111 have been.
"These Travellers are being penalised and made homeless because of the failure of local authorities to provide accommodation.
"That is fundamentally wrong, and this new law criminalises Travellers."
Mr McCann was speaking at a demonstration outside the offices of Ennis Town Council yesterday where over 150 Travellers protested at Tuesday's forced removal of four caravans from residential areas of Ennis.
Tuesday's action by Ennis gardaí is understood to be the first time that the new Housing (Miscellaneous Provision) Act, 2002, has been enforced, resulting in the four caravan-owners being brought before the District Court and charged with trespass on council property.
Under the Act, if found guilty of trespass, individuals can be fined €3,800 and/or jailed for one month.
The Travellers' solicitor, Mr Charles Foley, in a move supported by the ITM, has confirmed that he is preparing an application to the High Court.
The attendance at yesterday's protest was made up almost exclusively of Travellers, with little sign from the local settled community that they oppose the Garda actions.
