WRC finds Traveller family discriminated against by council in accessing maintenance services

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has found that a Traveller family was discriminated against by Dublin City Council in accessing maintenance services.

Sallyann Berry, a member of the Traveller community resident at Labre Park, Ballyfermot, took an equality case following significant delay by Dublin City Council (DCC) to the repair of her family’s sanitation facilities. A fire in late January 2015 destroyed the sanitation unit adjacent to their mobile accommodation. On reporting the damage to DCC, Mrs Berry was refused maintenance services due to an alleged previous ‘incident’ of anti-social behaviour by other persons on site.

It was 6 months before Mrs Berry, who was pregnant, and her young family were provided with adequate sanitation facilities.

Mrs Berry took her complaint to the WRC, claiming that DCC failed, refused or neglected to provide a maintenance service, thereby directly discriminating against her under the Traveller status ground of Section 3 and contrary to Section 5 of the Equal Status Acts in relation to access to a service. DCC denied that the claimant had been discriminated against and that emergency accommodation had been offered and use of an alternative sanitation unit on the site.

The WRC found that the delay in providing proper access to a sanitation unit was discriminatory against the complainant and would not have occurred in similar circumstances for a person from the settled community.The Ballyfermot Travellers Action Project (BTAP), which advocated for the family in this matter, welcomed the ruling. “This is a very important decision for the Traveller community. All too often an entire community, whether it be Labre Park or another Traveller-specific accommodation area, is discriminated against by local authorities and other agencies as blanket policies are implemented without regard to individual need,” said Lorraine McMahon, BTAP Coordinator.

For a copy of the decision click here.

 

BTAP is a member organisation of PILA and received pro bono legal support in taking this case. If you are a social justice organisation and interested in learning more about PILA’s work and our Pro Bono Referral Scheme please contact PILA’s Legal Officer Eithne Lynch at Eithne.lynch@flac.ie.

 

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