Site survey of Traveller facilities in Galway finds human rights violations
The first site by site survey of facilities and conditions for Travellers in Galway has found widespread violations of human rights standards.
The report, released today, was carried out by the Galway Traveller Community in cooperation with the county's Traveller Movement.
The comprehensive survey of 18 Traveller sites and group housing schemes found the main problem areas are sanitation, water and power supply.
Joanna Corcoran, a member of the Traveller Community, said that her community is not surprised by the findings as it is their daily lived experience.
However, the community is shocked that nobody at Local Authority level is ever held to account for the continuous neglect and human rights breaches.
"These appalling conditions are enabled by, and further deepen, a wider social patchwork of structural inequality, including institutionalised racism," said Ms Corcoran.
My community’s cultural rights are being denied every day. Public bodies can no longer ignore their duties.
"They need to proactively show how they plan to achieve equality outcomes for the Traveller community."
She said that many families have been living with unsafe and insecure conditions for decades.
"This report enabled our community to be the experts and to present the issues and struggles they face on a day to day basis," she said.
What we are looking for is accommodation that allows my community to live in security, peace and dignity, not accommodation that is comparable to living in third world conditions.
"The systems failure that has condemned us to these conditions has denied generations of Traveller children the right to a home that allows them to thrive and realise their potential."
