NAAS is ‘under siege’ from illegal Traveller encampments which are moving around the town like a game of musical chairs according to a local councillor.
Cllr Fintan Brett had sought the enactment of new bye-laws prohibiting unauthorised encampments within the old Naas town council boundaries under the 1948 Sanitary Services Act. He said that councillors in Listowel had done something similar in recent times and it had worked there and he saw no reason why it wouldn’t work in Naas.
Cllr Brett said the town was under siege from such encampments and he, like many of his colleagues, had received a number of phone calls from local residents and businesses who claimed to have been threatened, abused and robbed.
“There has been action taken in the last few weeks to move these people on again. But I think someone, somewhere has to take a stand. Time and time again issues like this come in and council staff take the time to bring the issue to court only for the encampment to move 20 yards down the road. It’s a merry go round. It has gotten to a stage where, along with indigenous Travellers, we have tourists coming up from Clare who have houses and they are setting up in places like the Monread Road.”
Mark O’Loughlin from the Kildare County Council Housing Section told the meerting of Naas Municipal District, that the decision on whether or not they enact new bye laws lay with the councillors. However he said enforcement of any new bye law would be down to council staff, in co-operation with gardaí who enforce the current bye laws. He said the council would question what difference any new bye laws would make as the issue would continue to be enforcement.
“Councillors would also have to be careful about what they discuss and the reasons why they enact such a bye law. The courts could take a view as to why a bye law was brought in,” he said.
Councillors Sorcha O’Neill and Carmel Kelly asked about the provision of Traveller accommodation in the county as a whole and in the Naas Municipal District.
In response they were told that there were a number of Traveller specific halting sites in the county, the nearest of which is Tankards Garden in Newbridge. They were further told that there was no such accommodation in Naas but the Traveller Accommodation Programme 2014-18 proposes the development of
Traveller specific accommodation in the Naas area to meet a specific need and the council are now actively persuing this matter.
Having heard from Mr O’Loughlin the councillors decided against proceeding with new byelaws to outlaw unauthorised traveller encampments in the town at present and said they would review the situation again in the future.
