Sir, - Joe Humphreys (An Irishman's Diary, November 21st) criticises Olivia Mitchell TD for her opposition to halting sites and her advocacy of "conventional housing in urban areas" for Travellers, but Ms Mitchell's approach is correct.
The Commission on Itinerancy in 1963 recommended normal housing for Travellers preceded by campsites as a temporary measure. Most campsites opened by Dublin Corporation, failed. This led to the Travelling People Review Body in 1983 recommending that "no more sites should be provided". The Review Body strongly recommended standard houses and, as a temporary measure, halting sites "for trailers only, with individual sanitary facilities". Para 10.3, page 48 says: "No family should be obliged to go on to a site or remain thereon because of inadequate provision of standard houses for travellers by a local authority."
The 1983 report was adopted by the then government yet, despite the clear indication that halting sites should be temporary, 10 years later the Minister for Equality and Law Reform set up a task force, part of its brief being "to report on implementation of measures to meet the Government target of providing permanent serviced caravan site accommodation for all traveller families."
The task force recommended more halting sites in Dublin and elsewhere as permanent accommodation. However, four public representatives, in an addendum to the report, expressed concern about "the inordinate cost to the Exchequer of catering for the way of life" as outlined in the main report.
The stand taken by Ms Mitchell is fully in keeping with the recommendations contained in the reports of 1963 and 1983 and the policies of governments prior to the Task Force Report of 1995. - Yours etc.,
Michael P Flynn, Ballinderry, Mullingar, Co Westmeath.