Plight of Ennis Traveller family

`I'd love a house, some place to play and do my homework. It is dangerous where we are," said nine-year-old Kathleen-Marie Keenan. Along with her seven brothers and sisters, Kathleen-Marie has been living at the roadside near Ennis town centre for the past two years.

Last year her four-year-old brother, Jimmy, was knocked down by a passing vehicle. Now fully recovered, he shares space in the cramped surroundings with his brothers and sisters, the youngest of whom is five-month-old David.

All of the children of school-going age attend the nearby Holy Family School, though some face the prospect of having no permanent accommodation before they leave primary education.

According to figures issued by Clarecare Services, 117 traveller children under the age of 10 are living on the roadside throughout Clare without sanitation or refuse facilities.

The figure represents a rise of 44 per cent on that for 1998. According to the Department of the Environment, there are 126 Traveller families living by the roadside in the mid-west region. Each local authority has committed itself to Traveller Accommodation Programmes 2000-04 adopted earlier this year.

The problem is particularly acute in Clare, where the only serviced site in the Ennis area was closed on foot of a High Court order in February 1997.

Since then, with no alternative accommodation available, Traveller caravans have been parked illegally throughout the town.

Caravans remain outside the offices of Clare County Council and Ennis Urban District Council, a daily reminder to council officials and the public of the need for serviced sites.

Last May Clare County Council moved to alleviate the situation under emergency legislation by starting work on a 13-bay halting-site adjacent to a special-needs school in Ennis.

However, work on the temporary site was halted after residents and school management of St Clare's school secured a judicial review of the decision.

A hearing is not expected until the new year. An estimated 600 houses in the area have been asked to contribute £150 towards funding the anticipated court bill of £60,000.

According to Mr John Murphy, project co-ordinator of the Limerick Traveller Development Group, there are also problems of overcrowding in Limerick. He cites on example in the corporation area where 15 caravans remain beside a three-house site allocated to Travellers.

Mr Murphy said the accommodation issue was the biggest issue facing Travellers. "After it is solved, it makes it much easier to address issues such as education and training. While a number of Traveller families are better off than they were a number of years ago, the general picture is, unfortunately, still the same."

Where accommodation has been provided under the new legislation, the results have been impressive, according to a Shannon-based councillor, Ms Patricia McCarthy. Last September a new site with six bays for mobile homes and two houses was provided in Shannon.

The director of St Joseph's Training Centre for Travellers in Ennis, Ms Helen O'Sullivan, said the accommodation problem in the town could be solved.

"All it will take is for people to sit down and talk to each other. Dialogue is paramount. Nobody wants to see those children continue living on the roadside."