The fire that claimed the lives of ten people from the travelling community at a halting site in Carrickmines last weekend raises a number of issues that have to be addressed.
Travellers’ rights and the place of travellers in Irish culture have for too long been sidelined by successive governments.
Relations between some sections of the travelling community and the settled community have been characterised by fear, ignorance and mutual recriminations for generations.
If anything constructive is to emerge from the tragic loss of life in Carrickmines, then it should be a change in policy in the way travellers are treated.
A good starting point is to settle the stand-off between Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown council and the residents of Rockville Drive over the location of a proposed temporary halting site for members of the travelling community that were affected by last week’s fire.
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It seems highly insensitive that anybody could object to accommodating the surviving family members of the fire that claimed the lives of ten adults and children, as well as an unborn baby.
The halting site where the fire occurred had been designated as temporary ten years ago. It would probably have been used as a halting site for the foreseeable future, if it were not for the incident.
As a first priority, the government should immediately conduct a health and safety audit of all existing caravan sites. Urgent upgrades should be made where appropriate. Furthermore, there has to be a comprehensive review of the planning system and how local councils deal with halting sites.
Tensions between local communities and travellers inevitably arise when land that does not have the infrastructure to accommodate a high number of families is used as a site.
There is a lack of water, sanitary and waste collection facilities, which has consequences for both communities.
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This leads on to a much more fundamental question about the relationship between Irish society and travellers. Yesterday Enda Kenny said that there was no constitutional impediment to recognising traveller ethnicity. This should be an immediate priority of the next government. Traveller culture deserves constitutional recognition and, with that in place, it would at last lay the foundations for relations to normalise between communities.
It would also force the government, and by extension, local councils to establish a proper network of designated halting sites that are properly resourced. These sites also have to be properly planned and developed through the appropriate consultation channels. A proper housing programme has to be available for members of the travelling community who want to pursue that option.
In terms of the dispute at Carrickmines, the council’s proposal that a temporary site be located there for six months is the most sensible approach. That period should be used to put in place a much more comprehensive set of guidelines in terms of planning and resourcing for halting sites.
Politicians need to take the initiative and address an issue that is sensitive, but also unavoidable.