Council’s rebuttal of Cork halting site report ‘soul-destroying’ for residents

CRITICISM by Cork City Council of the Children’s Ombudsman’s report on conditions in Spring Lane halting site has been described as “like being kicked in the gut again”.

That is according to Breda O’Donoghue of the Traveller Visibility Group (TVG), who was reacting to an Irish Examiner report that Cork City Council had written to the Department of Housing to rebut the report.

In the correspondence, the council said matters were “nowhere near as simple as outlined” in the report from the Office of the Ombudsman for Children.

It added that the report did not show a “complete understanding or appreciation of the complex problems and deep-rooted socio-economic issues” relating to the Spring Lane site, reported the Irish Examiner.

In response, Ms O’Donoghue, who is the TVG’s director of advocacy, said the organisation is very disappointed and frustrated after learning about the city council’s correspondence with the Department of Housing regarding the report.

The report highlighted several concerns about Spring Lane, including damp accommodation, rodent infestation, and illegal dumping.

“We were not expecting anything like this,” said Ms O’Donoghue.

“It is very disheartening for the families.

“It is like being kicked in the gut again. It is soul-destroying.”

She said the TVG had worked hard since the publication of the report to build trust of Cork City Council among the residents of Spring Lane.

She said the Travellers had worked with the council on urgent measures being addressed at the site recently, including toilet and shower facilities.

She said trust has been badly damaged by the emergence of the correspondence from Cork City Council in relation to the report, which was published in May.

Seventeen children at the Spring Lane site were interviewed by the investigation team from the Ombudsman’s office, including some as young as three years old.

One child spoke of having dirty clothes as a result of having to go to school through a dirty passageway while another told of seeing rats on the site, including running up and down “the walls of the trailer”.

The report recommended that a risk assessment must be carried out in co-operation with the residents, including children, to address the health and safety risks identified at the site.

Cork City Council was contacted for comment.