Sir, - I refer to your article (August 14th) concerning trespass by members of the Travelling community on both public and private property in the Dublin area particularly during the summer months. I concur completely with the call made by Deputy Olivia Mitchell for a strengthening of the laws on trespass.
In South Dublin this summer we have had up to 150 transient Traveller caravans in a county which has a record that is second to none in the state in the provision of Traveller accommodation. At one stage recently there were 95 caravans parked on public open space along by the Grand Canal in Clondalkin. Currently there are 58 caravans parked in a public park - St Cuthbert's Park in Clondalkin. Recently a large group of Travellers, most of them returned from Britain, destroyed playing pitches in Tallaght. These families have left their normal places of residence all over the country and abroad and are in South Dublin on business for the summer months.
Unfortunately their presence in these locations has been marked not only by their casual dumping of normal domestic refuse on the open spaces in question but also by their on-going dumping of builders' rubble, topsoil, subsoil and waste garden materials, scrap cars, etc., the detritus of their daily business activities. The Grand Canal in particular has suffered extensive dumping.
South Dublin County Council has adopted a very substantial Traveller accommodation programme which plans the provision of approximately 240 units of Traveller accommodation over the next five years.
Emergency facilities for those Travellers normally resident in the county in unauthorised encampments are currently being provided while these Travellers await permanent provision.
This Council also recognises its obligation to provide transient sites for Travellers visiting the county, but I consider that because of the scale of the annual influx, the provision of transient sites must be approached on a Dublin regional basis if the problems being experienced by all four Dublin local authorities are to be solved.
I read with interest the comments of Ms Ronnie Faye, Director of Pavee Point, and would point out that this Council's ambitious Traveller accommodation programme was adopted without rancour by a large majority of councillors at the first meeting of the Council called to consider it.
Unfortunately the totally irresponsible and anti-social antics of these visiting Travellers render it much more difficult for this Council to implement its programme and gain acceptance from the settled community for Traveller accommodation development in their areas by re-enforcing their negative perceptions and fears.
This behaviour does down the efforts of local communities and this Council to maintain public areas and the damage done is extremely costly to rectify.
But, most importantly, because of the resistance it engenders it makes it much more difficult to provide decent living conditions for those Travellers normally resident here and who are waiting patiently for decent living conditions.
Groups like Pavee Point and Traveller support groups generally would, in my opinion, be doing a much greater service to the vast majority of Travellers and for the provision of Traveller accommodation if they did not maintain their usual "conspicuous silence" on the totally antisocial behaviour of some Travellers like those currently visiting our county and perhaps interceded to use their good offices to make the anti-social element among Travellers realise that along with their rights come responsibilities to their fellow citizens particularly local Travellers. -Yours, etc.,
Stanley Laing, Cathaoirleach, South Dublin County Council, Tallaght, Co Dublin.