Éamon Ó Cuív urges action on Traveller report and housing
Éamon Ó Cuív addressed the committee report on Traveller accommodation and urged immediate action, calling for a lead minister with a dedicated fund. He described site visits, cited a 2011 survey on public attitudes and Traveller demographics, and warned that reports alone are insufficient.
Committee work and acknowledgements
Éamon Ó Cuív thanked the Ceann Comhairle for initiating the work, praised Eileen Flynn's chairmanship and described his role as vice-chair of a cross-party committee. He said the committee worked cohesively and that reports are only the first step toward change.
Site visits and local examples
He recounted visits to Labrie Park, St Margaret's and four sites in Galway, saying Labrie Park's public realm reminded him of scenes from South Africa. He described ongoing unacceptable accommodation in his constituency, examples of families unable to get replacement caravans because of council resource limits, and a case in Galway where a council-purchased house was burned and met with planning objections when the council tried to rebuild.
Survey findings and demographic concerns
He cited Michal McGrail's 2011 survey on attitudes, pluralism and diversity, noting the statistic that 18.2% would refuse citizenship to Travellers and that half of those would deport them. He highlighted demographic contrasts - roughly 27% of the general population are aged 1-19 versus 52% of Travellers, and much smaller shares of older age groups among Travellers - to underline different social needs.
Calls for concrete measures and oversight
He insisted the report "was not for debating but for action," called for weekly oversight by the Standing Committee, and urged the appointment of a lead minister with responsibility and a dedicated fund - modelled on supports given to the islands - so other departments or the minister could step in when necessary. He stressed the time for prevarication and delay is over and demanded tangible improvements to Traveller lives.
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Ceann Comhairle, I'd like to first of all thank you for your interest in this whole matter and I'm aware that only for your initiative none of it would have ever happened I'd also like to thank Eileen Flynn for the work she did as chair and to say that she brought a knowledge to this subject that was invaluable and a contribution and an expertise that I think a lot of us who haven't lived the experience lack it was a great privilege to be vice chair of this committee and it was a committee that worked cross-party in a very very cohesive and agreed fashion I'd also like to say to all of my friends in the Traveller community reports don't get things done they're only the first steps of laying out what needs to be done and there's a lot that needs to be done As part of the work of this committee we visited Labrie Park St Margaret's and four sites in Galway I was familiar with the sites in Galway I wasn't familiar with the other sites I have to say that Labrie Park the nearest I saw to it in terms of the external I'm not talking about the conditions inside the properties I'm talking about the public realm but the nearest I saw to it in South Africa and this we think is a first world country I think it's fair to say that as has been highlighted the traditional approach by government to this is to be a problem to be solved I always have seen Travellers as a community to be cherished and a community that we must give real equality to There was a very comprehensive survey on attitudes, pluralism and diversity in Ireland a very professional work published by Michal McGrail a sociologist from Maynooth in 2011 and it was a long series of them where he can tell you what an attitude to every group in Irish society is It's interesting that in that book he dedicated it as follows This book is dedicated to the emancipation of the travelling people Ireland's Indigenous ethnic minority I remember when I was writing the foreword to the book that one of the most striking statistics was as follows In relation to the travelling people the results are good and bad On one hand a considerable minority, 18.2% would refuse citizenship to travellers And on the other hand tolerance towards travellers is indicated by an increasing number of people who would welcome a traveller into their family But let's look at the first figure, 18% nearly one in five people you meet in the street believe that travellers should not have citizenship In fact half of those believe they should be deported And this is scientific This book, when you read the whole totality of the book and our attitude towards various nations around the world You see that the least group that we respect for are the Indigenous group The other thing that is absolutely extraordinary is when you look at the demographics In the population as a whole about 27% are in the 1 to 19 age group In travellers that is 52% So how are there so many young people in the traveller community? Because there are so few old people compared to the rest of society For example when you look at 60 to 79 In society in general there is 12.6% In the traveller community 3.7% That is 25% When you go to 80 plus there is 2.7% In society in general there is 0.3% In other words one tenth give or take Of the number of over 80 year olds In the traveller community per population Do I believe those figures are true? Do I believe these attitudes that I have indicated there are still valid in our society? Yes I do Some time ago a house was purchased by Galway City Council for travellers that had been living in the county area for over 20 years Mysteriously in the middle of the night it got burnt down When the council went to rebuild the house there were also objections lodged to the planning And I think that that tells you something of attitudes Therefore there is a huge amount of work to be done And we cannot afford to be sitting on it As is said in the chairperson's foreword Over the years there have been numerous reports and studies produced which have highlighted The extreme difficulties and challenges faced by the traveller community Unfortunately it is clear that they have not succeeded in proving conditions in travellers line So I think when we wrote this report this was a report not for debating but for action I would commend what you said And I look forward to the Standing Committee Because I believe unless we are on this every week And new issues will arise that we have not covered in this report Unless we are on it every week we will not see change I am 30 years in politics I have worked on this issue But do I see much change? Do I still see people in my constituency In totally unacceptable accommodation? Yes Do I see people who cannot get replacement caravans Because City Council says they can only afford their share of four of them Even though there are 20 or 25 of them That are in absolutely disgraceful conditions And as I have often said Would you sleep in a freezing caravan that is damp Every night of the week Just because somebody in this very wealthy state says Well sorry we can only afford four of them this year Therefore we have a huge job of work to do The Arachtas has a job of work to do And it is time we did it It is time we dealt with the way society has treated travellers But the other thing I would believe from my experience And that is that it is time That not only had we a lead minister With responsibility for travellers With power But that minister needs a dedicated own fund Similar for example to what has been given to the islands Where if somebody in any other department is not doing the job That they can step up with the fund And intervene and make the thing happen Because the time for prevarication and delay is over It is now a time for action And I hope that the result of this report Is not more debates But action to improve the lives But the kind of action that I have not seen In my time in politics
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