Sinn Féin Housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD has described as “totally unacceptable” that only one third of the €13m in funding available for traveller accommodation has been drawn down to date in 2019. He has called on Minister Damien English to press ahead with recommendations of the expert group as a matter of urgency.

Deputy Ó Broin said:

“Figures released to me in response to a parliamentary question indicated that just €4m out of a budget of €13m was draw down for Traveller Accommodation to date in 2019.

“This means that nearly 70% of the €13m remains to be drawn down over the next six weeks before the end of the year.

“Some local authorities are continuing to underspend on traveller accommodation, with 14 local authorities failing to draw down any funding yet this year.

“2019 is currently on track to be the greatest underspend since I started tracking this.

“In 2018 there was 48% underspend in traveller accommodation budget by local authorities.

“It was a similar story in 2017 where only €4.8m was drawn down out of a budget of €8.7m.

“Minister English must implement the recommendations of the expert group on Traveller accommodation as a matter of urgency.”