FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) has welcomed the recommendations of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights for improving the human rights situation of Travellers and Roma in Ireland.
The issues highlighted by Commissioner O’Flaherty in his memorandum are consistent with the experience of FLAC’s Traveller Legal Service and Roma Legal Clinic. For example, the memorandum calls for strengthened legal aid for Roma and Traveller victims of discrimination. FLAC’s Roma Legal Clinic is overwhelmed by requests for assistance from Roma people (particularly Roma women) who have experienced discrimination.
FLAC is especially pleased to see that the Commissioner’s recommendations echo our calls for “meaningful legal changes in the areas of Traveller accommodation” which we made in a detailed submission to the Oireachtas Committee on Key Issues Affecting the Traveller Community last year. However, the Government’s written response to the Commissioner’s memorandum does not include any commitments to the necessary law reform in this area.
FLAC Managing Solicitor, Sinéad Lucey, commented:
“The Commissioner has called for the repeal of laws which allow for the eviction Traveller families living on the roadside with no procedural safeguards. There are several laws that allow for such evictions. Other international bodies such as the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, as well as national human rights organisations, have also called for their removal. A complete review of such laws is long overdue in light of the decision of the European Social Rights Committee against Ireland in relation to Traveller Accommodation, and the decision of Supreme Court in the McDonagh case regarding the constitutional rights of Travellers living on unauthorised sites and who are facing eviction.
While the Government response to the memorandum refers to the development of ‘protocols’ and several policy-based initiatives, nothing less than concrete law reform will suffice in this area if Ireland is to comply with our human rights obligations. A new Traveller Accommodation Bill should reform eviction law, as well dealing with the planning, delivery and standards of Traveller Accommodation. It should remove the barriers which Travellers face in accessing social housing and emergency accommodation and provide a remedy for discrimination and racial profiling which is encountered in those contexts. FLAC is one of a number of bodies who stand ready to support the preparation and passage of such legislation”.
The Commissioner’s memorandum and the Government’s response may be accessed here.
FLAC’s written submission to the Oireachtas Committee on Key Issues Affecting the Traveller Community may be accessed here.