Amendment No. 11 arises from Committee proceedings. Amendments Nos. 11 to 14, inclusive, may be discussed together.

I move amendment No. 11:

In page 19, lines 10 and 11, after "persons" to insert "for any period not exceeding 2 years".

All the amendments we are taking together were discussed on Committee Stage. They are all essential towards ensuring that the Bill — and the intentions of both the Oireachtas and the Minister of State — works to best effect.

The amendment seeks to insert the words "for any period not exceeding 2 years" in relation to the length of time families are housed on sites with limited facilities. As I said on Committee Stage, it has been reported to me — and the Minister with responsibility for housing has not denied this report — that families have been housed on such sites for up to 18 years. By definition, these sites are intended to be of a temporary nature. It is reasonable to expect that a period not exceeding two years should be inserted into the section. Otherwise, people will have to endure inadequate and insufficient facilities for the greater part of their children's developing years.

On Committee Stage, the Minister of State mentioned a period of five years as being the normal time frame of individual plans. I indicated that I would welcome his amendment if he wished to put a very high threshold of five years on the legal period of time that travellers could be accommodated on these inadequate sites. In the list of amendments I see the Minister of State has not put forward his own amendment to follow through on the suggestion made on Committee Stage. I can only assume he is fixed on the idea that people can be condemned forever to these sites. That is not the spirit of the Bill or the intention of the Oireachtas or the Minister. The Minister is loath to put in primary statute a legal requirement that people are not accommodated in inadequate facilities such as those for which we are making provision. They are meant to be of a temporary nature.

Amendment No. 12 seeks to put an upper limit on the number of families that can be accommodated on a single site. I suggest 20 should be the upper limit. We had a long discussion on Committee Stage about situations where scores of families were accommodated on an individual site. The Minister has accepted that is not good policy. He indicated on Committee Stage that 20 would be a large number of families to accommodate on a single site. Yet it looks as if we will not legislate to forbid sites accommodating more than 20 families. This has been suggested by the Irish Traveller Movement whose members are experts in this area and who are fully aware of the tensions that can be created if a large number of families are accommodated on an inadequate site. I reiterate my concern about this matter. I do not see why we cannot legislate for it, particularly when all parties agreed to it on Committee Stage. It is wrong to think this matter can be catered for in the guidelines the Minister proposes to issue for which housing authorities may have regard but which may not have the force of law. That is an inadequate way of dealing with the intentions of the Oireachtas in this matter.

Amendment No. 14 seeks to broaden the definition of limited facilities beyond the extremely basic definition in the Bill. Section 28 states:

"(7) In this section—

‘sites with limited facilities' means which, having regard to the temporary nature of such sites or the short duration [18 years] of periods of use, have sufficient water, facilities for solid and liquid waste disposal and hard surface parking area for caravans.".

I suggest that these three requirements be extended to include "and such other facilities as are reasonably required". These three requirements are too basic even in a definition of basic facilities.

I am concerned that we will make the mistakes of the past if we do not put in primary statute, not in guidelines which may or may not be followed, our intention that families who use sites with limited facilities will not be there for long periods of time. I have suggested two years as the upper limit. I am open to the Minister's suggestions for an alternative period if he thinks it should be slightly longer. I have suggested that no more than 20 families should be accommodated on any single site and that we broaden the definition of limited facilities to include things which are basic and essential for good human living.