Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 October 2024
429. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the support available for Kildare’s Draft Traveller Accommodation Programme 2025-2029, particularly how it will address the accommodation needs of Travellers in the county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42584/24]
View answerThe Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 provides that the role of my Department is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist housing authorities in providing accommodation for Travellers, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding.
The Act provides that housing authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller Accommodation Programmes (TAPs) in their areas.
My Department makes funding available to local authorities annually for the provision of Traveller-specific accommodation. My Department ceased the practice of allocating specific budgets to individual local authorities and implemented a new allocation process following a review of arrangements for the disbursement of funding provision and related supports for Traveller-specific accommodation. Since 2020, it is open to all local authorities to apply for and drawdown funds at any time throughout the year and this is actively encouraged by my Department. Full spend of the Traveller accommodation budget has been achieved for the past four years. The capital funding available for 2024 is €21 million for the provision of Traveller-specific accommodation to be provided by local authorities.
