Two men arrested in Dundalk during illegal halting site eviction

Traveller group says a number of caravans seized during Co Louth operation

In January residents of a Dundalk halting site watched on as the last caravans were removed from the site on foot of a Louth County Council deadline.

Two men were arrested in Dundalk as an eviction of a number of Traveller families living in illegal halting sites got underway.

Seven families - who had previously been evicted from Woodland Park halting site - had been living at a car park since January.

A signed notice was presented to the group on Monday afternoon, with gardaí saying they would be back on tuesday morning.

Rebecca Quinn from the Dundalk Travellers Group said a number of caravans were seized on Tuesday, and that gardaí did not allow anybody on site to move the remaining caravans.

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She told Newstalk Breakfast that five families had already moved on last night out of fears of potential seizures this morning.

She says, “the Council hasn’t been in touch. I tried contacting the Council yesterday to try and notify them, but of course they weren’t available”.

Louth County Council has previously said it intends to refurbish and reopen the unofficial halting site at Woodland Park.

Ms Quinn said “in terms of who would get allocated back in to it, they said they would be picking the 14 families in Louth who have been requesting the halting site the longest - so it may not be any of these families in the car park”.

In January residents of a Dundalk halting site watched as the last caravans were removed from the site on foot of a Louth County Council deadline.

The council insisted on the eviction of 23 Traveller families from the Woodland Park site where some of those affected by the eviction had been born, citing health and safety issues.

Most of the Travellers said at the time they were mystified as to why the council suddenly decided they should be evicted after decades on the cement floored, multiple-bay halting site close to retail parks between Dundalk and the M1 motorway.