The Government's proposal to tighten the application of the law on trespass, which this week received the sanction of both Houses of the Oireachtas, represents an attempt to avoid a repetition of the disgraceful scenes of last year in several areas of south county Dublin.
While the measure may be opportunistic in the run up to an election it will be welcomed by many residents who have had to endure an invasion of their communities by people who turned them literally into rubbish dumps.
What the Government, and a majority of Opposition TDs and Senators, agreed was to insert into the Housing Bill a clause that has the effect of amending the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994, in such a way as to make trespass a matter for the criminal, as opposed to the civil, courts. President McAleese must now decide, perhaps with the assistance of the Council of State, whether to sign the Bill into law. If she does, it will mean that a landowner, believing himself to have been trespassed upon, will be able to seek the assistance of the gardai, rather that fight his case alone through the civil courts.
The new law will apply equally to all persons within the State. With the force of criminal sanction, the gardai will be able to order persons trespassing to move on. The law is certain to be applied to people who seek to live temporarily on land that is not their own. In its wording and probable application, it would be incorrect to describe the measure as racist, as some opponents sought to do this week, as it does not seek to define, in any way, those to whom it will be applied. There can be little doubt, however, that legislators have Travellers uppermost in their minds.
Travellers have rights - the same as the rest of us - and recent moves to prevent discrimination are to be welcomed. But as members of this society, Travellers also have responsibilities. They must behave in a way that does not cause gross offence and set them at odds with their fellow citizens. Sadly, this is what has happened too often in recent years The State might better discharge its responsibilities by providing more and better temporary halting sites. But insofar as the trespass measure is designed to prevent a repetition of the Dodder, it is to be welcomed.