Trespass laws are preventing Travellers from practising lifestyle, report says
A Council of Europe commissioner has called for the repeal of Irish trespass legislation, arguing it infringes on Travellers' nomadic traditions.
Human rights commissioner Michael O'Flaherty made the recommendation in a memorandum published Tuesday, addressing the human rights of Travellers and Roma in Ireland.
O'Flaherty, an Irish human rights lawyer who assumed his role in April 2022, met with Traveller and Roma representatives in Dublin and Limerick last October. His memorandum highlights the 2001 Trespass Legislation and the Housing Miscellaneous Acts of 1992 and 2002, which criminalize trespassing on both private and public land. These laws can lead to the eviction and imprisonment of Travellers, and even the impoundment of their trailers.
In many places, boulders have been erected by the local authorities in what used to be traditional halting sites for Travellers.
The commissioner said these policies and the continued lack of provision of culturally appropriate accommodation prevents many Travellers from practising nomadism.
Only an estimated 15-20% still live in mobile homes or trailers, often in substandard and overcrowded conditions such as on unofficial halting sites and without access to water or electricity.
Mr O'Flaherty said the provisions preventing Travellers from practising their nomadic lifestyle should be repealed and measures should be taken to provide for 'culturally appropriate accommodation at local level'.
He also called on authorities to address living conditions in halting sites, after 'consistent accounts' of poor maintenance, rodent infestation, inadequate sanitation and waste disposal systems, and unsafe or intermittent electrical installations.
The commissioner's recommendation is in line with calls from the Traveller representative group Pavee Point.
A similar recommendation was contained in a July 2019 report on Traveller accommodation prepared by an independent expert group for the Department of Housing.
That group said the legislation should be repealed, in particular for publicly owned land until an appropriate network of transient sites has been established.
The Government said a programme board has set up a sub-group to develop a protocol for a consistent approach for local authorities and Traveller households, taking account of the legislation for the removal of temporary dwellings.
It said the Traveller Accommodation Act 1998 is supported through Housing For All and provides for Traveller-specific accommodation measures.
Mr O'Flaherty said he was told during his visit that a review of the trespass legislation is not currently considered.
He also said that 'structural anti-Traveller racism and anti-gypsyism' in Irish society constitutes one of the main barriers to progress in the access to rights of Travellers and Roma, 'permeating all aspects of their lives'.
He recommended that Irish authorities effectively address over-policing of the Traveller and Roma communities, including through an accessible independent complaints body and an ethnic identifier throughout the criminal process to ensure the contributing factors to the over-representation of Travellers in Irish prisons are addressed.
The commissioner also recommended that Irish authorities take measures to address racism against and bullying of Traveller and Roma children in schools, as well as ensure effective implementation of health and mental health plans.
Equality Minister Norma Foley said the report was 'constructive', while her department said most of the recommendations in the report will be acted on under the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy II 2024-2028.
She said: 'While much has been done in recent years to address the issues faced by Travellers and Roma in Ireland, I am conscious that more remains to be done.'
Ms Foley said her department was committed to implementing the inclusion strategy ensuring 'active participation' of Travellers and Roma in Ireland's social, economic, cultural and political life.
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