The European Committee of Social Rights – part of the Council of Europe – has found the Irish Government to be in violation of the European Social Charter for a number of failures concerning Traveller accommodation. The collective complaint was brought by the Budapest based European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), with the support of the Irish Traveller Movement (ITM).
The complaint alleged Ireland had not satisfactorily applied the charter with respect to Traveller housing, and that Ireland was in breach of Article 16, which deals with the rights of the family to social, legal, and economic protection. It emphasised that the budget for Traveller accommodation was cut from €40 million in 2008 to €3 million in 2014, with chronic underspending by local authorities.
The European Committee of Social Rights found that Irish law and practice breached human rights on the following grounds:
“I am particularly concerned about the lack of safeguards for those facing evictions in Ireland”, stated ERRC President Đorđe Jovanović. “Right across Europe, we have legally contested forced evictions of Roma and Travellers, and twice in the last month succeeded in getting the European Court of Human Rights to invoke emergency measures to halt evictions in Romania and Italy. Forced evictions are often discriminatory measures creating new forms of hardship for those evicted, and exacerbating a pattern of human rights violations. In the case of Ireland, the ECSR noted there is a failure to provide for prior consultation, prior notice, no winter moratorium, and no requirement to provide adequate alternative accommodation. I am especially concerned that there is no legal aid for those facing eviction. The remedy of judicial review in the absence of legal aid is no remedy at all. I would call on the Irish state to ensure that all those facing eviction have full access to free legal aid.”
The European Commission was also critical of the lack of progress in its most recent review of Ireland’s National Traveller/Roma Integration Strategy. The Commission stressed the need for better coordination across the policy areas of health, education, employment and housing; called for improved monitoring and reinforced mechanisms for better communication and dialogue; and emphasised the need for adequate funding to combat the higher risk of homelessness among Travellers. The Commission made specific mention of the need for the state to develop a systematic approach to tackle prejudices against the Traveller and Roma communities, including working with the media.
Although not legally binding on the State, the judgement will bring pressure, from the Committee of Ministers under the auspices of the Council of Europe, to address the violations.
Click here to read the background notes and decision.
Click here to read a Bulletin article on an ongoing collective complaint on conditions in social housing.