Ireland should scrap trespassing laws to allow Traveller and Roma to culturally appropriate accommodation, says watchdog

But the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights has been told that ministers are not going to review laws that criminalise Travellers for living on public or private land, despite an Irish government review recommending the same legal change in 2019.

Michael O’Flaherty, the Irish human rights lawyer and former priest, has been serving as the commissioner for human rights since last January.

In a report published today, following a visit from Mr O’Flaherty to Ireland last year, he has raised major concerns about unsafe housing, homelessness, institutional discrimination, and a mental health “crisis” suffered by Traveller and Roma people in Ireland.

Between October 7 and 11 last year, Mr O’Flaherty visited halting sites in Limerick and Dublin. A report published today details how he witnessed “very basic and overcrowded conditions” and a “desolate environment” where there was illegal dumping, sanitary issues and concerns about emergency access.

The Commissioner…