Understanding the Challenges Faced

by Travellers in Clare

2016 Census

The 2016 census of population recorded a total of 30,987 Travellers living in Ireland. Of these, 910 were resident in County Clare (with over half living in Ennis). The local authority annual count, carried out in November 2018, indicated that there are 305 Traveller families resident in the county. While this represents less than 1% of the total population of Clare, members of the Traveller community continue to face higher levels of disadvantage than any other section of the county’s population.

MapClare

Challenges

Inputs from participants in the planning workshops (as well as consultations with members of the community in other centres) underlined ongoing challenges for Travellers in Clare in respect of:

  • 1. Accommodation and living conditions.

    In addition to problems associated with poor and inadequate accommodation, those consulted made particular reference to difficulties in accessing the kind of accommodation they saw as appropriate. Families made reference to accepting housing in areas or circumstances, because of a lack of any choice, even though they knew this would lead to problems and did not represent a solution in the longer term. At the more extreme end of the accommodation problem for Travellers is the level of homelessness within the community. There is certainly at least anecdotal evidence that this problem is growing within the county, that this is reflected especially in younger or newly formed families, and the response in terms of emergency provision is inadequate

  • 2. Mental and Physical Health.

    As would be expected (given what is known from health research undertaken on and with the Traveller community) general health and wellbeing concerns were among the most frequently raised in our community engagement process. And by far the greatest concern was raised in relation to mental health. While no precise estimates are available, feedback from Travellers consulted was of personal experiences of increasing incidences of suicide – and of fears in relation to the risk of suicide. Many of the fears expressed were in respect of young Travellers, with continued exposure to discrimination and a lack of hope in the future being cited as principle contributors.

  • 3. Education and Progression.

    The continuing trend in early school leaving was a concern expressed by many parents consulted. And feedback from young Travellers highlighted what they saw as the negative experience of being in school – a feeling of ‘not belonging’ and being ‘looked down on’. There was also the difficulty (shared by parents) in seeing ‘the point’ in staying at school – given the perceived lack of opportunities to progress into employment following education. There was an equally negative assessment of opportunities for participation in training. The majority of those consulted had low expectations of training leading to opportunities for meaningful employment. The content of training being offered was not seen as being work related (with a particular absence of opportunities for apprenticeships and trade-related training being identified). The continued experience of discrimination on the part of employers was also cited as barriers to employment by Travellers consulted.

  • 4. Culture and Identity.

    A common thread running through feedback on all other challenges was the discrimination and prejudice experienced by most people consulted on an ongoing basis. This was directly linked by some respondents to poor mental health and the risk of suicide. It was also raised in relation to the alienation felt by many young Travellers in the schooling system; as a barrier to securing employment; and frequently as a problem arising when trying to access certain mainstream services. There is, on the one hand, the likelihood of experiencing negativity and even hostility for no other reason than ‘you are a Traveller’. Added to this, on the other hand, is the gradual erosion of many aspects of Traveller culture and the tendency towards what some people described as the danger of ‘losing your identity’. For young Travellers the danger was in some cases seen as being about becoming ‘confused about your identity’ or ‘questioning your identity’.

Key Policy Developments and the National Picture

A number of key developments have taken place within the policy environment over the past decade. For example:

  • Official recognition by the Irish state of Traveller ethnicity in 2017

  • Implementation (and subsequent review) of the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS) 2017-2021

  • Completion of the review of national Traveller accommodation policy and delivery (by Minister-appointed Expert Review Group) in 2019.

  • Locally, implementation of the Clare Traveller Accommodation Programme (TAP) 2019-2024 and interim review of the programme in 2022.

Minister Joe O'Brien / Launched the Strategic Plan
Minister Joe O'Brien / Launched the Strategic Plan

Despite what can be seen on the surface as a commitment at public policy level to address serious disadvantage, all indicators are that conditions and prospects for the Traveller community are continuing to deteriorate.

Accommodation for Travellers remains at the centre of these worsening conditions. There was a decline of more than 70% in funding for the provision of Traveller accommodation in the decade between 2008 and 2018 (from €40 million per annum to €12 million per annum). Furthermore, there is a continuing mismatch between funding allocated to Traveller accommodation and the amounts drawn down by local authorities to provide or improve homes. The Expert Review Group points to the fact that this mismatch was highest during those years where allocations were also highest.

“Analysis of trends in the proportion of funding allocated which was actually drawn down reveals that the mismatch between the two was particularly high in the years when funding was higher. During the three years when the funding allocated was lowest (2013, 2014 and 2015) drawdown exceeded or almost matched funding allocated, while in the years when the funding allocated was highest the opposite pattern pertained.” Expert Review Group on Traveller Accommodation, 2019.

Commitment

Significant decrease in national commitment, added to by local authorities’ lack of willingness and/or ability to draw down the limited funds that were available, has added to the crisis in Traveller accommodation. The overall effects of this have been most recently highlighted in respect of:

  • Record levels of homelessness among the Traveller community, the highest of any growing in Irish society.

  • Similarly unprecedented levels of overcrowding and numbers living on the side of roads or on unauthorised halting sites.

  • A continuous decline in the number of Traveller families able to access Traveller-appropriate accommodation, with increasing numbers forced to engage with a private-rented sector that has become almost inaccessible for most.

Repeated and ongoing attempts to highlight this situation by Traveller representative organisations, together with pleas for urgent intervention, have not led to any improvement. Indeed, attempts to do the same at the European level have met with a similar lack of response.

The European Committee of Social Rights – which works under the Committee of Ministers and is part of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe – has on two occasions ruled that Traveller human rights are being violated. On the first occasion (May 2016) the committee found violations in four respects: that there is not enough Traveller accommodation; that many Traveller sites are in an inadequate condition; that Irish law provides inadequate safeguards for Travellers threatened with eviction; and that evictions are carried out without necessary safeguards.

Ireland was again found to be in breach of the European Social Charter in relation to treatment of the Traveller community in January 2019. This time the European Committee of Social Rights ruled that current laws do not give Travellers enough consultation rights in cases where landowners wish to evict families camping on their property. It also recommended that legislation should allow for the provision of alternative accommodation or legal representation for the affected families.

The continuing failure to address outstanding accommodation needs has in turn added to the levels of deprivation experienced in a range of other areas. Cutbacks imposed across a range of development programmes and services since 2008 have not been reversed4 and Travellers are continuing to experience the highest levels of unemployment, lowest levels of educational attainment, the fewest opportunities for progression, the poorest health and the highest incidence of suicide of any grouping in Irish society.

Deterioration in living conditions and quality of life has coincided with decimation of the local development or support infrastructure for Travellers. Even though Travellers were prioritised as a target group in SICAP (Social Integration and Community Activation Programme), there was a significant decline in the number of groups either working with or representing Travellers. The SICAP 2016 annual report indicated that only 8% of local community groups were working with Travellers. This compared to 63% of local community organisations working with settled people living in disadvantaged communities.

More significantly, Travellers represented less than 3% of overall SICAP caseload in 2022. (Travellers remained the group with the lowest level of engagement within SICAP of all target groups). This is despite the fact that Travellers had a higher incidence of experiencing direct discrimination than any other grouping (33% of Travellers experiencing discrimination compared to 12% for Black community, 12% for Asian and 17% for Roma community – SICAP EOY Report 2016).

It is inevitable, therefore, that the past five years has seen serious deterioration in living conditions and an undoubted increase in levels of social and economic exclusion for Travellers.

Between 2008 and 2013, support for Traveller education programmes and initiatives was cut by 86.6%; support for equality initiatives cut by 76.3%;
 funding to national Traveller organisations cut by 63.6%; support to Traveller SPY youth initiatives cut by 29.8% and financial aid to initiatives to combat
 drug abuse among Travellers cut by 32.5%.

Between 2008 and 2013, support for Traveller education programmes and initiatives was cut by 86.6%; support for equality initiatives cut by 76.3%;
funding to national Traveller organisations cut by 63.6%; support to Traveller SPY youth initiatives cut by 29.8% and financial aid to initiatives to combat drug abuse among Travellers cut by 32.5%.

Strategic Plan 2023

Download our Strategic Plan for more information

CLARE TRAVELLER CDP VISION STATEMENT

“Our aim is to improve living conditions, opportunities and achievement of human rights for Travellers in Clare. This will be pursued through establishing and strengthening local alliances and, most importantly, through building effective Traveller leadership and a strong Traveller voice”

Vision

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