The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) has made a complaint to the European Committee of Social Rights regarding Ireland’s treatment of Travellers. The ERRC alleges that Ireland has violated a number of provisions of the European Social Charter, which protects socio-economic rights. The European Committee of Social Rights is responsible for ensuring that Member States comply with this Charter.
The ERRC argue that Ireland’s housing policy, as it applies to Travellers, violates Article 16 (right of the family to social, legal and economic protection), Article 17 (right of children and young persons to social, legal and economic protection) and Article 30 (right to protection against poverty and social exclusion) of the Revised European Social Charter. It also argues that Ireland has violated Article E which prohibits discrimination.
The ERRC also claim that Irish legislation indirectly discriminates against Travellers through the use of summary and arbitrary evictions. It argues that Irish law on evictions lacks transparency, with three different legal instruments used interchangeably. In particular, they refer to section 19 C of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 as amended by the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002, that permits the Gardaí to summarily evict families from land where the owner has not consented to their presence. The ERRC says it disproportionately impacts those who do not have access to legal accommodation, effectively criminalising nomadism.
According to the complaint submitted by the ERRC, “Over the last two decades, the Government of Ireland has steadily introduced housing legislation that obliges local authorities to provide halting sites and other accommodation for Travellers. At the same time, Ireland has passed increasingly regressive evictions legislation, whereby speedier and harsher forced evictions are permitted against Travellers living by the roadside or in other informal situations. These eviction laws have been passed and used despite the fact that the Government has singularly failed to implement housing legislation to provide adequate and formal halting sites and other accommodation to Travellers.” Click here to view the European Roma Rights Centre’s complaint to the European Committee of Social Rights.
On 14 May, the Joint Committee on the Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht met representatives of the Traveller Community to discuss concerns over local authority housing policies. Issues raised included assimilationist housing policies, homelessness and under spending of funds earmarked for the Traveller Community. Following the meeting the Committee proposed to the Minister that in future years, local authorities who do not spend/draw down the monies allocated to them for the provision of housing for members of the Traveller Community should be required by Regulation to give a detailed explanation of why they have not done so. Click here to view a press release from the Oireachtas Environment Committee.