This article is from page 4 of the 2006-03-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
ALL of Clare’s indigenous traveller families are now being housed in accommodation provided by Clare County Council, after a traveller family decided to move into a council-provided site at Ballymacraven, Ennistymon.
The family decided to move into the contentious site after the council fulfilled its obligations, as set out under an agreement reached by both parties in the High Court last November.
The family had previously objected to moving into the site, which is also occupied by three other families, on the grounds that the sanitation facilities were inadequate and posed a health risk and that the site was too small.
One member of the family had suffered from serious health problems and doctors had advised Clare County Council. The council brought legal proceedings against the family, compelling them to move in to Ballymacraven after they had refused to.
Under the terms of the High Court agreement, the council agreed to expand the area of allocated living space and to provide new living quarters. The council also agreed to install more toilet facilities on the site, when objections were raised over the site’s original sanitation system, which only allowed for three metal container toilet/kitchen/shower units to be used by four family groupings.
Heather Rosen, a friend of the family, said that while they were grateful to the council for upgrading the site, they were sad that were being forced to abandon their traditional way of life. She added that there were still a number of issues that needed to resolved.
“There is a need for signage on the road, as there is still a lot of traffic passing down by the site. The spiked fencing around the site is very dangerous for children playing around there. There is still work to be done,” she said.
A spokesperson for Clare County Council stated that the council had carried out all the work as requested by the High Court agreement and that while the issue of road signage didn’t fall under the terms of the agreement, the council would “look into it”.
“An independent assessment of the site has also been carried out and it was found that all the improvements had been carried out in the right order”.