On 14 May, a Dublin Circuit Court judge ruled in favour of a Traveller applicant, ordering that costs of enforcement proceedings she initiated be borne by the respondent. The enforcement proceedings related to a decision of the Equality Tribunal from May 2012.
In January 2010 a property management company cut off without warning the heating, electricity and water to a property where the applicant, Ms Kathleen Maughan, lived with her baby. In May 2012 the Equality Tribunal ruled that the conduct of the management company violated the Equal Status Acts on the basis of Ms Maughan’s membership of the Traveller community. The management company was ordered to pay €6250 in damages and to undertake equality training. Click here to read the Equality Tribunal decision.
When the management company failed to pay the damages, Ms Maughan sought assistance from the Irish Traveller Movement Law Centre to obtain an enforcement order. Susan Fay, Managing Solicitor at the Irish Traveller Movement Law Centre said, “It is important that where feasible, awards made under the Equal Status Acts be enforced to ensure that people protected under the nine grounds, in particular Travellers, do not become disillusioned with the effect of equality legislation in prohibiting and punishing racism and discrimination.”
The Equality Authority has expressed concern that a high proportion of respondents in equality cases are insolvent or no longer trading, leading to difficulties in enforcing judgments.
Meanwhile, on 14 May the Oireachtas Environment Committee discussed housing policy issues in relation to members of the Traveller community. Concerns included homelessness, assimilationist policies whereby members of the Traveller community are being housed in standard accommodation and under-spending of Local Authority funds allocated to Traveller housing.
Bulletin readers may remember that a recent report by Pavee Point revealed that austerity measures have severely curbed many initiatives aimed at promoting the social inclusion of the Traveller community.
Click here to read a press release from the Irish Traveller Movement.
Click here to read an Oireachtas press release about the Traveller housing policy discussion.
In European news, on 2 May, the Italian Supreme Court declared certain Roma-targeted policies to be unlawful. The so-called “Nomad Emergency” was an emergency decree issued by the Italian government in May 2008 in response to increased Roma immigration.
The decree granted increased powers to local authorities in a number of regions, targeting Roma in ‘nomad camps’. The decree also introduced a census of the Roma in Italy, created a Roma database for use by police, facilitated forced evictions and saw the creation of segregated camps.
These measures were met with fierce criticism from international non-governmental organisations. The Open Society Foundation said that in winter 2009, Rome authorities bulldozed the largest nomad camp in Rome, leaving 1,000 Roma homeless. Pisa forcibly closed camps in January 2010, paying €500 to Roma who agreed to go to Romania. In Milan, approximately 70 evictions of authorised and unauthorised camps took place in the first six months of 2010, leaving many children unable to attend school. Click here to read more.
The Nomad Emergency was declared unlawful in 2011 by the Italian Council of State (a body which ensures the legality of public administration in Italy). The Italian government appealed to the Supreme Court who upheld the Council of State’s decision on 2 May. Jezerca Tigani, Deputy Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International welcomed the decision, saying, “The Nomad emergency ushered in an all-time low in Italy’s discriminatory treatment of Roma. We are delighted that the country’s highest court has finally upheld the rights of Romani people.”
Click here to read an article by Amnesty International discussing the Supreme Court judgment.