Traveller Groups today (Nov 3rd) walked out of a Government conference in protest at lack of progress on Traveller accommodation. The conference was organised for Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committees (LTACCs) who said today they are being stonewalled in their work by local representatives who represent a racist agenda. LTACCs were set up to advise the Environment Minister in relation to matters concerning accommodation for Travellers, under the Housing Act 1998. In recent years funding for Traveller accommodation has dropped from €70 million to just over €4 million.
According to a count by lcoal authorities in 2014 there are 1,536 Traveller families living in overcrowded or unsafe conditions – 445 on the side of the road, 104 on basic services sites, 223 sharing halting site bays , 37 sharing basic site bays and 727 sharing houses. View RTE coverage of the walkout here.