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Report finds ‘stark’ conditions at halting site

Wednesday, 09 April 2008

The latest report on a Traveller halting site in Ballyfermot has made a number of recommendations to improve the lives of its residents.
The halting site at Labre Park has been described as one of the most notoriously bleak places for Travellers to live in Dublin with residents forced to endure anti-social behaviour, ill health, rat infestation and illegal dumping on an ongoing basis.
On the back of a report in 2006 by the High Level Group on Travellers’ Issues, Dublin City Council convened an inter-agency committee early last year to develop a coordinated action plan for the delivery of Traveller specific services in the city.
The committee decided to focus on just one site in the Dublin area with the stated overall aim to address the issues and the barriers faced by Travellers within Labre Park.
Various organisations, including Dublin City Council, the HSE, the Ballyfermot Traveller Community Development Project, the Ballyfermot Partnership, the Department of Education and An Garda Siochana are responsible for the creation of the report.

The interagency groups have also drawn up proposals to redevelop the site and a request for funding has been submitted to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for approval.
A section in the report, entitled ‘Challenges from the Travelling Community’s Perspective’, outlines a number of stark findings related to the health of residents, the anti-social behaviour they have to contend with, environmental issues and their lack of employment and educational opportunities.
“The high level of health related issues on site is striking, ranging from dermatological issues to chronic tiredness, heart problems and the prevalence of cancer,” the report states.
“For many residents the poor health on site is directly attributable to the appalling environmental conditions plainly observable.”
In relation to the issues of crime and safety, the report says: “There is a strong sense that the rule of law no longer exists in Labre Park.”
The report goes on to suggest that the “cycle of public order, anti-social behaviour and criminality must be broken through increased and continued interaction between the gardaí, DCC and the residents of Labre Park”.
The study also found that children of Traveller families often left the education system when they were as young as 10-years-of-age, some due to bullying.
Some 43 per cent of residents at the site who responded to the survey said that they had problems accessing certain services such as health and GPs.
Ciarán Reid of the Ballyfermot Partnership said a series of action groups had been set up to implement the recommendations in the report.
“We are generally happy that the process was meaningful, that it brought the agencies together and it was a good constructive conversation both with the Traveller stakeholders as well as the agencies,” he said.
Assistant director of Travellers’ rights group Pavee Point, Martin Collins, welcomed the report but said the initiative needed to be implemented citywide.
“I think it is important that the city council is taking this initiative but it needs to be rolled out right across the city,” he said.
“I don’t think it is sufficient to focus on one particular site. It is part of the guidelines issued by the Taoiseach’s department that these would be rolled out on a city and countywide level.”

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