PART III

Miscellaneous

24. —Nothing in this Act shall prevent a manager from exercising the powers conferred on a manager under section 2 (9) of the City and County Management (Amendment) Act, 1955 , (as amended by section 27 of the Act of 1988) in an emergency situation.

25. —(1) Subject to subsection (2), a housing authority may make a loan for the—

(a) acquisition or repair of a caravan within the meaning of section 13 of the Act of 1988 (as amended by section 29 ), or

(b) acquisition of land for the purpose of providing a site and any construction works required for such purpose.

(2) The Minister shall, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, specify terms and conditions for loans made under subsection (1)

(3) Subsections (2) to (14) of section 11 of the Act of 1992 shall apply, to such extent as may be appropriate and with any necessary modifications, to a loan made under this section.

26. —(1) Section 19 of the Act of 1963 is hereby amended in subsection (2) by—

(a) the insertion in paragraph (a) of the following after subparagraph (v) (inserted by the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations, 1997 (S.I. No. 94 of 1997)):

“(vi) for the provision of accommodation for travellers and the use of particular areas for that purpose, and”,

and

(b) the insertion in paragraph (b) of the following after subparagraph (iv) (inserted by the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations, 1997 (S.I. No. 94 of 1997)):

“(v) for the provision of accommodation for travellers and the use of particular areas for that purpose.”.

(2) Section 19 of the Act of 1963 is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (9) of the following:

“(10) In this section ‘traveller’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998.”.

27. —(1) A planning authority may, when complying with the provisions of paragraphs (a)(vi) (inserted by section 26 ) and (b) (v) (inserted by section 26 ) of section 19 (2) of the Act of 1963, include those objectives in a variation of the development plan under section 20 (1) of the Act of 1963 or a new development plan under section 20 (1) of the Act of 1963 (as amended by section 43 (1)(e) of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1976 ) of which notice under section 21 (1)(b) of the Act of 1963 is published after the coming into operation of section 26 .

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 39 of the Act of 1963, any thing done or act carried out by a housing authority for the purpose of implementing an accommodation programme shall be deemed not to contravene a development plan in the period between the coming into operation of section 26 and compliance with paragraphs (a)(vi) (inserted by section 26 )) and (b)(v) (inserted by section 26 ) of section 19 (2) of the Act of 1963.

28. — Section 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 , is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2) (as amended by section 24 of the Act of 1988):

“(2) This section applies to a body which—

(a) represents or promotes the formation of co-operative or voluntary groups or associations which have as an object the provision of—

(i) houses, or

(ii) sites, within the meaning of section 2 of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998, for the accommodation of travellers,

or

(b) provides information, advice or training or conducts research in relation to—

(i) houses, or

(ii) sites, within the meaning of section 2 of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998, for the accommodation of travellers.”.

29. — Section 13 of the Act of 1988 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 13:

“Provision of sites for caravans.

13.—(1) This section applies to persons belonging to the class of persons who traditionally pursue or have pursued a nomadic way of life.

(2) A housing authority may provide, improve, manage and control sites for caravans used by persons to whom this section applies, including sites with limited facilities for the use by such persons otherwise than as their normal place of residence or pending the provision of permanent accommodation under an accommodation programme within the meaning of section 7 of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998, and may carry out any works incidental to such provision, improvement, management or control, including the provision of services for such sites.

(3) Section 56(2) of the Principal Act shall apply in connection with the provision of sites under this section as it applies in connection with the provision of dwellings under that section.

(4) A housing authority may, in respect of the use of a site provided by them under this section or of any service or facilities provided or made available in connection with such a site, make such charges as the housing authority see fit.

(5) Any charge due to a housing authority under subsection (4) shall be recoverable by them as a simple contract debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.

(6) The Minister may issue guidelines for the purpose of this section and a housing authority shall have regard to any such guidelines.

(7) In this section—

‘caravan’ means any structure designed or adapted for human habitation which is capable of being moved from one place to another, whether by towing or transport on a vehicle or trailer, and includes a motor vehicle so designed or adapted and a mobile home, but does not include a tent;

‘sites with limited facilities’ means sites which, having regard to the temporary nature of such sites or the short duration of periods of use, have sufficient water, facilities for solid and liquid waste disposal and hard surface parking area for caravans.”.

30. — Section 15 of the Act of 1988 is hereby amended in subsection (1) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (c):

“(c) the provision of caravans or the provision, improvement or management by the authority of sites for caravans referred to in section 13 (as amended by the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998) for persons to whom that section applies;”.

31. — Section 50 of the Local Government Act, 1991 , is hereby amended in subsection (2) by the insertion after paragraph (b) of the following paragraph:

“(bb) particulars of the activities of the local consultative committee and the steps taken to secure the implementation of an accommodation programme for the functional area concerned under the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998, during the period to which the report refers,”.

32. — Section 10 of the Act of 1992 is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Where, without lawful authority, a person erects, places, occupies or otherwise retains a temporary dwelling in a public place and such temporary dwelling—

(a) is within a five mile radius of any site provided, managed or controlled by a housing authority under section 13 of the Act of 1988 (as amended by the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998), or any site provided or managed under section 6 and the temporary dwelling concerned could, in the opinion of the housing authority within whose functional area such temporary dwelling has been erected, placed, occupied or otherwise retained, appropriately be accommodated on that site, the housing authority may serve a notice on that person requiring that person, within a specified period, to remove the said temporary dwelling to the said site,

(b) is, in the opinion of the housing authority concerned—

(i) unfit for human habitation due to lack or inadequacy of water supply, sanitation or other essential services, or

(ii) likely to obstruct or interfere with the use of public or private amenities or facilities, or the maintenance of such amenities or facilities, or

(iii) likely to constitute or constitutes a significant risk to personal health, public health, or safety,

and such temporary dwelling could, in the opinion of the housing authority within whose functional area such temporary dwelling has been erected, placed, occupied or otherwise retained, appropriately be accommodated on any site provided, managed or controlled under section 13 of the Act of 1988 (as amended by the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998), or any site provided or managed under section 6, the housing authority may serve a notice on that person requiring that person, within a specified period, to remove such temporary dwelling to the said site,

(c) is within a one mile radius of any site provided, managed or controlled by a housing authority under section 13 of the Act of 1988 (as amended by the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998), or any other traveller accommodation provided, managed or controlled by a housing authority under the Housing Acts, 1966 to 1998, or any traveller housing accommodation provided or managed under section 6 and the housing authority within whose functional area such temporary dwelling has been erected, placed, occupied or otherwise retained is of the opinion that, whether by reason of being one of a number of such temporary dwellings or otherwise, such temporary dwelling—

(i) is causing a nuisance or obstruction to the occupants of that site or traveller accommodation or other dwellings within the vicinity of that site or that traveller accommodation, or

(ii) creates a risk to the quality of water, sanitary, electrical or other services associated with that site or traveller accommodation or other dwellings within the vicinity of that site or traveller accommodation,

the housing authority concerned may serve a notice on that person requiring that person, within a specified period, to remove the said temporary dwelling,

but where the site specified in a notice under paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) is a site provided by a housing authority other than the housing authority serving such notice or a body standing approved for the purposes of section 6, such notice shall not be served until the consent of the housing authority or body concerned to such service has been obtained.”,

(b) the substitution in subsection (2) of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) the location of the site to which the temporary dwelling is required to be removed, or where a notice is served under subsection (1)(c), that the temporary dwelling is required to be removed to at least a distance of one mile from the specified site,”,

and

(c) the substitution in subsection (5) of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) to the site specified in the notice or, where a notice is served under subsection (1)(c), to a location that is not less than one mile from the site referred to in than subsection, or”.

33. — Section 34 of the Act of 1992 is hereby amended in subsection (1) by the substitution of “18, 20 or 20A” for “18 or 20”.

34. — Section 1 of the Act of 1997 is hereby amended in subsection (1) by—

(a) the insertion in paragraph (b) of the definition of “antisocial behaviour” after “house is situate” of “or a site”,

(b) the insertion of the following definition after the definition of “antisocial behaviour”:

“‘caravan’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 13 of the Housing Act, 1988 (as amended by the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998);”,

(c) the insertion in paragraph (b) of the definition of “estate management” after “1997” of “or a site”,

(d) the insertion in the definition of “respondent” of “or where appropriate under section 3A” after “section 3”, and

(e) the insertion of the following definitions after the definition of “respondent”:

“‘site’ means—

(a) a site to which section 13 of the Housing Act, 1988 , (as amended by the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998) applies, and

(b) a site provided or managed under section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 ;”, and

“‘site excluding order’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 3A;”.

35. —The Act of 1997 is hereby amended by—

(a) the insertion of the following section after section 3 :

“Site excluding orders.

3A.—(1) A person who is authorised, including a person who is jointly authorised, by a housing authority or an approved body to occupy a caravan on a site (in this section referred to as an ‘authorised person’) may apply to the District Court for a site excluding order against another person (in this Act referred to as the ‘respondent’) whom the authorised person making the application believes to be engaging in antisocial behaviour.

(2) A housing authority or an approved body may, in respect of a site provided by the housing authority or the approved body under the Housing Acts, 1966 to 1998, apply to the District Court for a site excluding order against a respondent whom the housing authority or the approved body believe to be engaging in anti-social behaviour and where the housing authority or the approved body—

(a) having consulted the authorised person concerned and the health board in whose functional area the site is situate, believe that such authorised person may be deterred or prevented by violence, threat or fear from pursuing an application for a site excluding order, and

(b) consider that, in the interests of good estate management, it is appropriate, in all the circumstances, to apply for a site excluding order.

(3) Where, following an application under this section, the District Court, or the Circuit Court on appeal from the District Court, is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the respondent is or has been engaged in anti-social behaviour, it may by order (in this Act referred to as a ‘site excluding order’)—

(a) direct the respondent, if residing at the site in respect of which the application was made, to leave that site, and

(b) prohibit the respondent, whether or not the respondent is or is not residing at the site, for the period during which the order is in force, from entering or being in the vicinity of that site or any other specified site or being on or being in or in the vicinity of any specified site.

(4) A site excluding order may, if the court thinks fit, prohibit the respondent from causing or attempting to cause any intimidation, coercion, harassment or obstruction of, threat to, or interference with the authorised person referred to in either subsection (1) or subsection (2) or other occupant of any site concerned.

(5) Where a site excluding order has been made the authorised person concerned, where the application was made under subsection (1), or the housing authority or approved body, where the application was made under subsection (2), or the respondent may apply to have such site excluding order varied and the District Court, or the Circuit Court, on hearing such application for variation shall make such order as it considers appropriate in the circumstances.

(6) A site excluding order, whether made by the District Court or the Circuit Court on appeal from the District Court, shall, subject to subsection (7) and section 9, expire 3 years after the date of its making or on the expiration of such shorter period as specified in the order.

(7) On or before the expiration of a site excluding order to which subsection (6) relates, a further site excluding order may be made by the District Court, or by the Circuit Court, on appeal from the District Court, for a period of 3 years or such shorter period as specified in the order and the order shall take effect from the date of expiration of the first-mentioned site excluding order.

(8) A site excluding order under this section may if the court thinks fit or appropriate—

(a) require the respondent, within a specified period, or

(b) permit the respondent, on such conditions as the court may specify,

to remove from the site any caravan owned and occupied by the respondent on that site.

(9) Sections 4 to 12 shall apply, with any necessary modifications, to a site excluding order under this section and for this purpose references in those sections to—

(a) ‘excluding order’ shall be construed and have effect as including a reference to a site excluding order,

(b) ‘interim excluding order’ shall be construed and have effect as including a reference to an interim site excluding order,

(c) ‘house’ or ‘housing estate’ shall be construed and have effect as including a reference to a site, and

(d) ‘tenant’ shall be construed and have effect as including a reference to an authorised person making an application under subsection (1) or referred to in subsection (2)(a).

(10) Subsections (4), (5) and (8) shall apply to an interim site excluding order as they apply to a site excluding order.

(11) In this section ‘approved body’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 13(2);”,

and

(b) the insertion of the following section after section 14:

“Authorisation to occupy caravan on site.

14A.— Notwithstanding anything contained in the Housing Acts, 1966 to 1998, a housing authority may refuse or defer an authorisation to a person to occupy a caravan on a site where—

(a) the housing authority considers that that person is or has been engaged in anti-social behaviour or that the occupation by that person of a caravan on the site would not be in the interest of good estate management, or

(b) that person fails to provide information, including information relating to persons residing or to reside with that person, which is requested by the housing authority and which the housing authority considers necessary in respect of the application for such authorisation.”.

36. —The Act of 1997 is hereby amended—

(a) in section 10 by the insertion in subsection (1) after “section 3,” of “3A,”,

(b) in section 11 by the insertion after “section 3,” of “3A,” and

(c) in section 21 by the insertion after “section 3,” of “3A,”.