Traveller specific accommodation

smash · 27-03-2012 09:32AM #1

Clare council set to stop building Traveller homes

CLARE COUNTY Council is set to stop building Traveller-specific accommodation in Clare.

This follows a report showing that 25 per cent of its 10 group-housing schemes for Travellers – which cost €20 million to build – is vacant.

The report by the council's Traveller accommodation consultative committee says that the results of the current Traveller accommodation programme "are disappointing".

It says that five of the homes have been lost through arson, while 27 per cent of current tenancies have lodged transfer requests for other housing.

Arising from the results, the Traveller accommodation consultative committee has agreed that further building will not go ahead. The committee's recommendations will now go before the full council.

The council states that three new group schemes were constructed as part of the 2009-2013 programme, two in Ennistymon, at Ballymacraven and at Glen North, and one in Ennis, at Knockanean.

The county council's group-housing construction programme, involving successive Traveller accommodation schemes, which include the current one, resulted in the provision of 63 units of permanent accommodation – 50 houses and 13 bays.

However, the Irish Traveller Movement has warned Clare County Council that if it stops the construction of specific housing for Travellers it would be "in breach of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, specifically in relation to Travellers' human rights. It could lead to opening a legal challenge."

The chairman of the Traveller accommodation consultative committee, councillor Brian Meaney (Green), yesterday defended the committee's recommendation. "There is no interest in constructing the Traveller-specific accommodation units the plan envisages," Mr Meaney said.

"In the current economic climate, it would be madness to construct further expensive housing while currently there are 16 units – that is a quarter of the current Traveller accommodation – that are unoccupied."

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0326/1224313894045.html

I heard this on Matt Cooper yesterday evening and a representative from Clare County Council said that on average a traveller specific accommodation unit will cost circa €500k. This price includes the purchase of the land, building materials and labour costs and then amenities etc to cater for their culture. An estate, once complete will cost aprox 7x more than a regular housing estate in maintenance and each unit is anywhere between 1100-1500 sq ft. And they don't have to pay the household tax either.

Personally I don't know why they should get special treatment, and considering the anti social behavior from the estates I don't know wht CCTV is not in operation. Family arguments are resulting in arsen attacks and nobody is willing to speak up. I know this thread wont end well, but sure lets try and discuss it anyway.

summerskin · 27-03-2012 09:39AM

and it disappears. magic, i brokes the internets..

EDIT: and now it's back.

I'm scared.

CardBordWindow · 27-03-2012 09:40AM

They should be able to get the tarmac done fairly cheap though boss.

Seachmall · 27-03-2012 09:40AM

Common sense rears it's coy head in a local council?!

This can't go on! Free accommodation for all!!

slavetothegrind · 27-03-2012 09:49AM

i tells ya that small percentage of bad apples we keep hearing about sure get around!

we cannot discuss this topic until people are ready to face the reality of how a significant proportion of this group of people behave.

We cannot do this here i fear as it's an annonymous forum and silly posts could get boards in a spot of bother.

pickarooney · 27-03-2012 02:14PM

Now how about a country for the gypsies?

hightower1 · 27-03-2012 02:22PM

It seems fairly straight cut though....

The allotment of current houses are well being under utilized, stop building until they are at 100% capacity ...then build more if needed. If something is not being used or needed then why build it?

Ethnic minority my arse. You live in trailers, in trailer parks , drive utility vehicals, are mostly undereducated, and generally have poor hygene standards (multiple occupants to a caravan , its a given).... in the US your called redneck trailer trash but here your expecting to be pandered to as some ethnic way of life? Get real.

biko · 27-03-2012 02:24PM

Keep it nice and civil folks and this thread won't get locked (maybe).

krudler · 27-03-2012 02:25PM

Good, halting sites are an eyesore and rarely used for their intended purposes, there's a few in Limerick that look like a bomb went off in them, horses living in the houses and people living in the caravans, stop spending taxpayers money on people who the majority of the time dont pay tax or live within the law.

smash · 27-03-2012 02:26PM

hightower1 wrote: »

multiple occupants to a caravan

Part of what was "required" during these builds, is space for extended families. What a joke.

stovelid · 27-03-2012 02:28PM

I'm always seeing traveller chicks that I seriously want to ride.

It's the horn that dare not speak its name.

Hootanany · 27-03-2012 02:28PM

Gets Popcorn

MickySticks · 27-03-2012 02:28PM

smash wrote: »

I heard this on Matt Cooper yesterday evening and a representative from Clare County Council said that on average a traveller specific accommodation unit will cost circa €500k.

:eek: Let them go fup off!!

SEPT 23 1989 · 27-03-2012 02:29PM

They have no respect for themselves or the property they are given free of charge by law abiding taxpayers

wvicky01 · 27-03-2012 02:30PM

Members of the travelling community are uneducated, as previously posted,but this seems to be due to discrimination and the kids not feeling they fit in at school. Everybody complains about the cost but nobody mentions how life expectancy for travellers is much less than the settled community. Lack of education, lack of medical support and overall lack of resources leads to the early death from illnesses that would not kill settled people. There are a minority of travellers that cause trouble but there are also many settled people causing trouble! Would we get labelled as anti social scrounges because some settled people are NO! It is not air to label all travellers the same and in this day and age I am surprised that this still happens

SEPT 23 1989 · 27-03-2012 02:34PM

wvicky01 wrote: »

Members of the travelling community are uneducated, as previously posted,but this seems to be due to discrimination and the kids not feeling they fit in at school. Everybody complains about the cost but nobody mentions how life expectancy for travellers is much less than the settled community. Lack of education, lack of medical support and overall lack of resources leads to the early death from illnesses that would not kill settled people. There are a minority of travellers that cause trouble but there are also many settled people causing trouble! Would we get labelled as anti social scrounges because some settled people are NO! It is not air to label all travellers the same and in this day and age I am surprised that this still happens

Free education,free medical cards and millions of taxpayers money thrown at the problem

krudler · 27-03-2012 02:34PM

wvicky01 wrote: »

Members of the travelling community are uneducated, as previously posted,but this seems to be due to discrimination and the kids not feeling they fit in at school. Everybody complains about the cost but nobody mentions how life expectancy for travellers is much less than the settled community. Lack of education, lack of medical support and overall lack of resources leads to the early death from illnesses that would not kill settled people. There are a minority of travellers that cause trouble but there are also many settled people causing trouble! Would we get labelled as anti social scrounges because some settled people are NO! It is not air to label all travellers the same and in this day and age I am surprised that this still happens

resources, education and medical support are all there if they started living within the law and paying tax like everyone else. It staggers me that travellers ask for so much yet give so little to the society they want money from.

smash · 27-03-2012 02:35PM

wvicky01 wrote: »

Members of the travelling community are uneducated, as previously posted,but this seems to be due to discrimination and the kids not feeling they fit in at school.

It's to do with their way of life. Half of them couldn't care less about giving their children an education and want them to grow up the traveller way!

wvicky01 wrote: »

Everybody complains about the cost but nobody mentions how life expectancy for travellers is much less than the settled community.

They mostly live in squaller and there's a lot of inter-family marriage. This effects health.

wvicky01 wrote: »

Lack of education, lack of medical support and overall lack of resources leads to the early death from illnesses that would not kill settled people.

There's a free health care system here.

wvicky01 wrote: »

There are a minority of travellers that cause trouble but there are also many settled people causing trouble!

minority... :rolleyes:

wvicky01 wrote: »

Would we get labelled as anti social scrounges because some settled people are NO! It is not air to label all travellers the same and in this day and age I am surprised that this still happens

When they start to act different, they will be treated differently.

Professey Chin · 27-03-2012 02:37PM

wvicky01 wrote: »

Members of the travelling community are uneducated, as previously posted,but this seems to be due to discrimination and the kids not feeling they fit in at school. Everybody complains about the cost but nobody mentions how life expectancy for travellers is much less than the settled community. Lack of education, lack of medical support and overall lack of resources leads to the early death from illnesses that would not kill settled people. There are a minority of travellers that cause trouble but there are also many settled people causing trouble! Would we get labelled as anti social scrounges because some settled people are NO! It is not air to label all travellers the same and in this day and age I am surprised that this still happens

A lot of this is down to their parents. Its drilled into them from an early age that theyre different and are discriminated against. Everything that goes against them is automatically discrimination and with them seeing this mentality from their families they dont have a chance. Theres been plenty of traveller families that have settled and adapted well with some even going on to college education. Thats not gonna happen in the cases when theyre pulled out of school to get married

wvicky01 · 27-03-2012 02:37PM

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Free education,free medical cards and millions of taxpayers money thrown at the problem

Free medical cards are no good if you can not read or write to fill in the application form, free education is no good if you are the only traveller in the class and none of the other kids will play with you.

Kalel · 27-03-2012 02:43PM

They are well able to fill out other social welfare forms..Why not the Medical Card ? you are talking tripe.

wvicky01 · 27-03-2012 02:43PM

Would ye all argue against the idea that all Irish are drunks? This to me is the same principal. The stereotypical image of an Irish man is an alcoholic who goes home and beats his wife. Do we label all Irish men the same or say, yes there are a few, as in all other cultures but we are not all the same.

SEPT 23 1989 · 27-03-2012 02:45PM

wvicky01 wrote: »

Free medical cards are no good if you can not read or write to fill in the application form, free education is no good if you are the only traveller in the class and none of the other kids will play with you.

They can fill in forms easily enough when they are looking for money from the State

DarkJager · 27-03-2012 02:47PM

wvicky01 wrote: »

Would ye all argue against the idea that all Irish are drunks? This to me is the same principal. The stereotypical image of an Irish man is an alcoholic who goes home and beats his wife. Do we label all Irish men the same or say, yes there are a few, as in all other cultures but we are not all the same.

Ask 10 people about their opinions of the Irish and maybe 2 would have that view. Ask the same 10 people about their opinion on travellers and it will be closer to 8. Stop pretending they are victims. In all my interactions with travellers over the years, I don't have a single good thing to say about them. Why do you think that is?

mikemac1 · 27-03-2012 02:49PM

Let them join the housing list like everyone else

They don't need special accommodation with bays for caravans

Nobody else on the list gets special favours.
You take what you're given and if you reject it twice you go back to the end of the list

That story was in Clare, same happened in North Tipp
Nice Roscrea estate of thirteen houses built with bays for caravans and their requests meet and within a year there was arson and the places were vacant.
Roscrea has a lot of local authority housing, other applicants would have been delighted for those houses

lividduck · 27-03-2012 02:51PM

krudler wrote: »

resources, education and medical support are all there if they started living within the law and paying tax like everyone else. It staggers me that travellers ask for so much yet give so little to the society they want money from.

"if they started living within the law and paying tax like everyone else" you mean like Bertie, P Flynn, Lowery, or the tens of thousands of self respecting citizens who were caught with non resident bank accounts?
The 3 cnuts who beat a Polish man to death wern't Travellers, nor was Larry Murphy, nor was Marcolm McArthur, most crime in this country is caused not by Travellers but by the so called settled community, but its easy to be a smug racist when you can attack Travellers and blame them for all of lifes ills (Mind you if this thread was about Nigerians it would have been locked by now).

mikemac1 · 27-03-2012 02:54PM

lividduck wrote: »

its easy to be a smug racist

Impossible
They are no different to the rest of us

The UK gave them special status but they do not have that here

token101 · 27-03-2012 02:55PM

I'm afraid to comment for fear of waking the thought police, ending up in jail and being fired from my job.

Professey Chin · 27-03-2012 02:55PM

lividduck wrote: »

"if they started living within the law and paying tax like everyone else" you mean like Bertie, P Flynn, Lowery, or the tens of thousands of self respecting citizens who were caught with non resident bank accounts?
The 3 cnuts who beat a Polish man to death wern't Travellers, nor was Larry Murphy, nor was Marcolm McArthur, most crime in this country is caused not by Travellers but by the so called settled community, but its easy to be a smug racist when you can attack Travellers and blame them for all of lifes ills (Mind you if this thread was about Nigerians it would have been locked by now).

Ah the classic ignoring of proportions.
Take population then take crime.
Take settled population - Crime percentage
Take traveller population - Crime percentage

Which do you think will come out higher?

lividduck · 27-03-2012 02:57PM

mikemac1 wrote: »

Impossible
They are no different to the rest of us

The UK gave them special status but they do not have that here

They do under Equality Legislation

lividduck · 27-03-2012 02:57PM

The Great Chinholio wrote: »

Ah the classic ignoring of proportions.
Take population then take crime.
Take settled population - Crime percentage
Take traveller population - Crime percentage

Which do you think will come out higher?

Settled, every time.

Traveller specific accommodation

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