Galway Bay fm newsroom - A report by the The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has found a significant underspend on Traveller-specific accommodation budgets in Galway city and county.
Between 2008 and 2018, of the €168 million allocated to local authorities nationally for Traveller-specific accommodation, just two thirds was drawn down.
In Galway city, the figure for 2015 was emergency funding, in respect of which no application was made.
For all other years in the study, the Council reports that the monies drawn down were less than the funds allocated as the relevant projects were completed in subsequent years.
As of October 2019, the Council reports that no application for funds had yet been made that year.
The Council stated that the need for three permanent residential caravan parks in Galway City was identified over the lifetime of the Traveller Accommodation Plan for 2014 to 2018 but noted that none of these capital projects came to fruition for varying reasons, land availability being the primary reason cited.
In the county, of the €1.8 million allocated for Traveller-specific accommodation, the Council only drew down €390,848 in the period from 2015 to 2018.
No sums were drawn down or allocated in 2015 and no sums were drawn down in 2017.
The Commission has now made a series of recommendations, and has asked each council to report to it by the end of August, specifying the actions taken, or intended within specific timeframes.
Chief Commissioner of the IHREC Sinead Gibney, says there's little feedback taken by local authorities from members of the Travelling Community.
