IRELAND'S HOUSING LAWS PERMIT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST TRAVELLERS ACCORDING TO 'LOCAL NORMS THAT MAY BE DEEPLY ENTRENCHED'.

A new report claims that Ireland’s housing laws allow discrimination against Travellers to continue according to ‘local norms which may be deeply entrenched’.

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The report, endorsed by Traveller activists as well as Senator David Norris, will be considered by the United Nations Committee for the Convention against All Forms of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) as part of Ireland’s examination under the Convention on 2-3 December 2019. The report’s author, Dr Anna Hoare, stated, ‘Ireland has made commitments to guarantee citizens equal rights to housing, regardless of race or ethnicity, and to prohibit discrimination by national and local public authorities. Yet Travellers across Ireland are subject to quota systems when it comes to local authority housing, and many councils continue to have ‘designated’ houses for Travellers, as they did in the 1970s. Until laws that allow ethnic rationing and segregation are repealed, Travellers will continue to be treated as second class citizens by housing authorities.’

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 The report states that practices in many parts of Ireland reflect attitudes from a time in Ireland’s history when internal segregation and explicit hierarchy were considered acceptable by the majority. Dr Hoare argues that housing practices in Ireland, and the laws that permit them, are incompatible with Articles 2, 4 and 5 of the CERD Convention.

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The report includes examples from the author’s research, including the story of Harriet and John. Harriet grew up in a house with her family, but while awaiting the birth of their first child, the couple applied for council accommodation. In order to qualify they were forced to take up residence in an Emergency Site, where they lived in a caravan for over six years. Harriet suffered depression, seeing her children growing up surrounded by security fencing, guards and cameras, and having to use cold, windowless shipping containers for washing and cooking. 'Council houses were lying empty for up to six months in the town where Harriet grew up,’ said Dr Hoare, ‘but they were never offered to this family because they were not ‘designated Traveller houses'.'

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Dr Hoare cites examples of houses vandalised or destroyed by arson, and of offers made to Traveller families being withdrawn because of local objections. ‘If you have a quota system, such as one Traveller family per street on a particular estate, then some local people may feel entitled to defend it. That can involve intimidation or even violence. Local councillors drawn into the politics of quotas may seek a right to veto housing offers made to Traveller families, or leak information in order to seek favour among local people.’

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According to the report, laws that allow ethnic quotas and ‘designated’ houses also encourage local politicians to spearhead opposition to Traveller sites. Dr Hoare stated ‘Campaigning against proposed sites for political gain is a time-worn, divisive technique. It employs practices similar to those used to force councils to withdraw offers of houses to qualified Traveller households in need of housing.’

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To download the report click on the link below.