Meaningful engagement with households is the greatest predictor of a successful Traveller-specific accommodation scheme, according to the authors of a new report.

The report, Good practice in the development and design of Traveller-specific accommodation, was commissioned by The Housing Agency to research and prepare draft guidelines on good practice on the appropriateness of location, scale and design of Traveller-specific accommodation, for the Minister at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The research was undertaken by a consortium led by desiun Architects with the support of the Public Policy Advisors Network.

 The report’s authors make a number of recommendations, including that funding should be provided for early, meaningful and consistent engagement with Travellers in the planning and development of Traveller specific projects.

This engagement should be undertaken before design work commences and should continue during design development. A high degree of involvement from Travellers with the design development should be sought, as well as inputs for the management and maintenance of the site, and a strategy for allocations.

The report also recommends that new sites should be located where amenities are close by and, generally, not in peripheral or isolated locations.

Read the full report here - LINK

This report presents a review of the role of social workers and other personnel employed by local authorities specifically to assist Travellers with their accommodation needs.

It was commissioned by The Housing Agency on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

This publication was written by Michelle Norris, Angela Palmer, Joanne Kelleher and Jim Campbell, School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University College Dublin.

The report can be read here.

Since the mid-1960s, local authorities have employed social workers to support Travellers in meeting their accommodation needs. Since then, the nature and scale of the demands on local authority housing departments have changed and local authorities have taken on new housing responsibilities.

This report found continuing levels of  accommodation need among this community and makes a number of recommendations to improve the effectiveness of this service in the context of the wider local authority housing service. This includes the implementation of the recommendations of the Traveller Accommodation Expert Review 2019.

The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Housing Agency, the Minister of State or the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

The Traveller Accommodation Expert Group was established in 2018, by Minister Damien English, to review the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998 and other legislation impacting on the provision and delivery of accommodation for Travellers. The aims of the Expert Group were to review the effectiveness of the 1998 Act and whether it provides a robust legislative basis for meeting the current and future accommodation needs of the Traveller Community, and to review other legislation that impacts on the delivery of Traveller-specific accommodation. In July 2019 the "Traveller Accommodation Expert Review" was published on behalf of the Minister of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. 

This report sets out an integrated set of recommendations intended to improve the effectiveness of the arrangements for providing accommodation for members of the Traveller community, which were established by the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998. These recommendations address four key themes:

• delivery reflecting need
• planning
• capacity and resources
• governance

The Expert Report can be downloaded for review on by following this link.

This report was commissioned by the Housing Agency and conducted by independent researchers.  The Housing Agency managed the project on behalf of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB, formerly the PRTB), the National  Traveller Accommodation  Consultative  Committee  (NTACC) and the National Traveller Roma Inclusion Steering Group (formerly NTMAC). The overall aim of the research is to provide greater understanding as to why some Travellers are accessing the PRS and to document Travellers’ experiences, including the pathways into the  sector, outcomes and impacts.

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This research was commissioned by the Housing Agency, who also managed the project on behalf of the National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee.  The research was carried out by independent researchers from RSM in association with Michelle Norris.  The research provides a review of funding for Traveller-specific accommodation since 2000, in the context of the delivery and implementation of local authority Traveller Accommodation Programmes.  The core objective of the review was to provide comprehensive answers regarding the scale of delivery across the country and the extent to which the homes provided met the identified needs of Travellers.

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This research report was commissioned by the Housing Agency for the National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee (NTACC).  It focuses on the reasons why Travellers leave Traveller-specific accommodation and possible approaches to addressing the issues arising. The research involved a survey for local authorities (to get an overview of the extent and nature of the problem nationally), case studies from three areas and consultations with National Traveller groups. The research includes recommendations and guidelines to enhance practice at a local level.

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This is the second in a series of three reports produced as part of a Traveller Accommodation Study by the Centre for Housing Research.  Traveller accommodation is a difficult area for local authorities to get right. Traveller families’ needs and preferences vary, can be difficult to clarify and if clear can be difficult to realise. Accessing appropriate sites throws up challenges; likewise the design and planning stages, construction, on-going management and maintenance, and inter-agency co-operation.  A core feature of this work has been the development and application of an indicator system to measure various aspects of Traveller accommodation provision. It is hoped that the indicator system might provide a framework on which national standards could be developed and agreed.

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This is the first in a series of three reports produced as part of a Traveller Accommodation Study.  This report reviews Traveller accommodation policy and practice in Ireland. It also refers to relevant European and UK developments that indirectly inform the Irish context and introduces the concept of quality of life.

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