Patrick and Annie Lawrence, Travellers based in Ballina, and their eight children (aged two years to 15) took to the roads yesterday on foot of an eviction notice under section 19 of the Miscellaneous Housing Act 2002, writes Áine Ryan, in Ballina
A local garda had served the notice on Monday to the Lawrences and three other families who had been camping on a Mayo County Council site adjacent to the town's swimming pool. The gardaí returned to the site yesterday afternoon.
It is believed that the other three families who are camped on the site do not intend to move.
"When they impound our caravans, they might as well impound us too," said Mr Martin Maughan, father of two small children.
When Ms Annie Lawrence asked the garda on what grounds they were being evicted, she was told: "You are being moved like the crowd in Ennis."
The Lawrence family have been on a local authority housing list for some time. They were fined last Christmas for camping in the garden of Mr Lawrence's mother, who has lived in Ballina for 30 years.
They will now camp on the side of the road, which they say is extremely dangerous for their small children.
It has been claimed that numerous complaints were made by the public to the management of the swimming pool.
None of the Travellers agrees with this charge.
"We're not allowed to use the pool. I offered to pay last week to use the facilities and I was refused," said Mary Lawrence (15). The family travels to Enniscrone, Co Sligo, to use shower facilities, according to Patrick Lawrence.
Mary has been studying for her Junior Certificate through a local FÁS scheme. She said she would now abandon these studies. The remainder of her schoolgoing siblings have also been attending local schools.
"This is an ongoing operational matter," according to Insp Willie Keaveney. "Complaints have been made and we are acting on those. I cannot comment any further."
Ms Bernadette Comiskey of the Mayo Travellers Support Group said: "When the Housing Miscellaneous Act 2002 was introduced, just before the election, it was purportedly to deal with large-scale summer encampments. Traveller groups warned that it would be used by local authorities to harass and evict all Travellers on the roadside.
"This is exactly what is happening here," Ms Comiskey continued. "The families have literally nowhere to go, nowhere they can park legally. "The local authority has failed miserably in its responsibility to make provision for these and other families on the roadside and transient families and now they are evicting them with no alternative place to camp.
"They should be ashamed of themselves."