From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
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The Minister of State for Planning and Local Government, Peter Burke TD, has welcomed the full expenditure of over €21m by local authorities relating to Traveller accommodation in 2021, in line with the budget provision provided by the government.
This expenditure investment by the department through the local authorities in relation to the provision of Traveller-specific accommodation in 2021 is composed of €15.5m in capital funding and almost €5.8m in current funding.
The Minister said:
“This is the second year in a row that full spend of the Traveller accommodation budget has been achieved. I want to thank the local authorities for working to achieve this investment for the benefit of the Traveller community. Our ongoing collaborative work with local authorities is supporting the consistent delivery of Traveller-specific accommodation.”
The Traveller Accommodation budget is provided for Traveller-specific accommodation, such as halting sites and group housing schemes and other supports. It is worth noting that accommodation for Traveller households is provided across a range of housing options and not just through this specific funding line alone given that the majority of Travellers live in and can often have a preference for standard housing, for example: local authority and AHB housing. Accordingly, funding available for and spent on the provision of accommodation solutions for Travellers is much broader than that reported under the Traveller-specific Accommodation budget.
The continued achievement of the full spend of the Traveller-accommodation budget comes after a change to the system of disbursement of this funding to local authorities. Following a review of previous under-spends, the department identified the system of allocating funding to local authorities as a barrier to accessing funding. In 2020, to facilitate ease of access to funding the department ceased allocating specific budgets to individual local authorities. Instead, it is now open to all local authorities to apply for and drawdown funds at any time throughout the year and this is actively encouraged by the Minister and the department.
The 2021 provision was also composed of a 50% increase in current funding for the management and maintenance of halting sites and group housing schemes.
The Minister concluded:
"I have secured a capital provision of €18m for Traveller-specific accommodation in 2022, an increase of €2.5m on 2021. I will continue to work with my department, local authorities, Traveller representative groups and all our stakeholders to continue the good work in improving the delivery and standard of all types of Traveller accommodation.
“I continue to work with the Programme Board to implement the ambitious recommendations of the Traveller Accommodation Expert Review, the last meeting of which was held last Thursday. While challenges remain, I am determined to continue to work with all our stakeholders to improve the quantity and quality of Traveller-specific accommodation, fund the ambition of local authority Traveller Accommodation Plans and grow the Traveller-specific accommodation pipeline.”