Galway Bay fm newsroom - The City Council is due to discuss its Traveller Accommodation Plan again next month after a marathon meeting last evening failed to find a solution to the ongoing crisis.
At City Hall, councillors received presentations from the council executive, housing body CENA and Galway Traveller Movement.
Last evening’s meeting was called to discuss the city Traveller Accommodation plan for 2014-2018.
The plan was adopted by the previous council almost three years ago – but to date, many of the actions and targets within the programme have yet to be achieved.
Galway Traveller Movement told councillors that there are over 1,600 Travellers in the city - over 1,000 are under the age of 25.
13 families with 46 children are currently living at a halting site in Carrowbrowne which has no child-friendly facilities.
The site, which was originally intended to be temporary, has been in existence for eight years.
The council executive has admitted that the city’s Traveller accommodation situation is at crisis level, and urgent action is needed to mitigate the risk of a Carrickmines-type tragedy happening here.
The local authority is examining a number of sites for new Traveller accommodation – these are Keeraun in Ballymoneen, Merlin Park, Carrowmoneash and Headford Road.
The council hopes to provide two new halting sites – one in the west of the city and one in the east - for Traveller families living in unsuitable conditions at Carrowbrowne and Cúl Tra in Salthill.
Despite a lengthy debate at City Hall last evening, no agreement was reached on a possible next step.
The councillors will meet again on March 6th to further debate the crisis.
