COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, January 09, 2023
QUESTION NO. 10
QUESTION: Councillor C. O'Connor
To ask the CEO if he plans to review the Council's Traveller Accommodation Programme and confirm services being provided to Traveller families across our County and will he make a statement?
REPLY:
In July 2022, the Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) directed all local authorities to undertake the statutorily required mid-term review of their current Traveller Accommodation Programme (TAP). While there is no statutory requirement to publish newspaper notices prior to undertaking a mid-term review, the Council did so on 11th August 2022 inviting submissions from elected members, Traveller representatives and the public generally.
A mid-term review report on the TAP was presented to the Council’s Housing Strategic Policy Committee in September 2022 outlining the following:
- updates on delivery of new and redeveloped Traveller accommodation
- numbers of Traveller households allocated standard social housing or casual vacancies on existing Traveller accommodation
- provision of caravans/mobile homes/medical chalets to Traveller households, and,
- acknowledgement and responses to issues raised in submissions where appropriate
The Housing Strategic Policy Committee endorsed the mid-term review report finding that no formal amendment to the TAP was required and recommended that position to the LTACC. The TAP mid-term review report was then presented to the LTACC at its meeting in September 2022. Discussion at the meeting particularly highlighted issues relating to transient site provision, energy efficiency in Traveller accommodation and caravan/mobile home provision. Following detailed consideration of the report, and noting the Housing Strategic Policy Committee’s recommendation, the LTACCC decided that no formal amendment to the Traveller Accommodation Programme was required. Accordingly, the TAP mid-term review report ( attached) provided formal notice by the Council to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage of this position on the 4th November 2022.