page_title: Halting site
section_title: The Irish Commission on Itinerancy
hierarchical_section_title: Halting site / History of Halting Sites / The Irish Commission on Itinerancy
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: CollectieCollectie Fotoburo de BoerInventarisnummerNL-HlmNHA_54016603NL-HlmNHA_1478_24907KBeschrijvingWoonwagenkamp Waarderveld.FotonummerNL-HlmNHA_1478_4327DocumenttypeTopografische prenten, tekeningen en foto'sVervaardigerBoer, Poppe de Soort vervaardigerFotograaf AnnotatiesHD.220285LandNederland ProvincieNoord-Holland GemeenteHaarlem PlaatsHaarlem StraatWaarderveldweg GeografischWaarderpolder Begindatum22-02-1985Einddatum22-02-1985TechniekFoto TrefwoordenWoonwagenkampen
context_page_description: A halting site is purpose-built residential accommodation for Travellers provided by a local municipal authority. The halting site has an individual bay for each family unit with a full range of services provided in a small structure on each bay.
context_section_description: Similar to how the Beveridge Report in Britain inspired a change in social policy there, in Ireland there was a change in government approach from non-intervention.  The changes were generally reflective of a paradigm shift in the Western hemisphere on the government's role in society and economy. Beginning in the late 1950s, the National Economic and Social Council (a government-appointed advisory body) produced a series of reports on economic and social matters. This marked a departure in the history of the Irish state, up to this point the government had simply deferred to the Catholic Church in the area of social welfare.
  In June 1960 the government established a "Commission on Itinerancy", the first specific state focus on Travellers in the history of the independent Irish state. This government body finalised their findings in "The Report of the Commission", in August 1963, publishing it on 26 November.
  
  The Commission on Itinerancy travelled to the Netherlands in September 1961 to consider the policy there. Dutch policy on Travellers was in its second generation; a version of halting sites had been created under the 1918 Caravan Act. 
  The Irish delegation visited Woonwagenkampen (tr. caravan camps). In camps like the one in Vlijmenseweg in the city of 's-Hertogenbosch they examined the facilities. Also, whilst there, the Irish delegation interviewed – through the use of interpreters – those Dutch Travelling Community resident on the sites.
  The Itinerancy Commission report in 1963 expressed satisfaction with the results of the Netherlands policy: 
  1. Facilitating Travellers in a single designated place in the locality allowed for sustained school attendance, and retention of contact with employers, employees, and business liaisons as well as for health and welfare services, voluntary organisations and religious bodies
  2. The living facilities in the Municipal Sites are superior than traditional caravans and tents, greatly increasing living standards, prolonging lifespans, reducing the rates of sickness and problematic pregnancy
  The Report recommended the provision by each local authority of halting bay sites where numbers of itinerant families habitually frequent an area. The standard of these facilities were to be on a par with those in Chilmington Site and in the Travellers’ Camps (nl) in the Netherlands.
  The Irish delegation was impressed with the joint planning from the relevant parties involved. A conference in Netherlands in 1963 was held involving all the bodies that work with the Travellers. At this conference officials from municipal government, health and welfare services, charities and the clergy came together to learn from each other. Mistakenly, there was no Traveller representation at this stage. The references to this conference in the Report stands out because of the Irish acknowledgment that dealings with Travellers in the Netherlands improved when a holistic approach was taken. Prior to this, state dealings in Ireland with Travellers were largely only in the area of criminal justice. "The object of the conference was to emphasise that the problem of itinerancy can only be solved by the humane treatment of the itinerants".
  Criticism has been made in retrospect that Ministerial commitment was not matched at local authority level. The 1983 Travelling People Review Body Report states that "compliance by some local authorities was marked by tardiness". The recommendations of having financial incentive, and a system of oversight to bypass "local political and community indifference" did not occur with the 1998 Act.
  One of the results of the 1963 Commission Report was the establishment of the National Council for Travelling People. The committee in Dublin was led by Fr. Tom Fehily, Victor Bewley, and Eleanor Butler. Pressure was maintained by this voluntary group on local municipal government to provide halting sites. 
  "The provision by Local Authorities of serviced camping sites provides the necessary springboard for the itinerants. Such sites can act as a bridge between the itinerants and the settled c
caption: Travellers’ Caravan Site in Haarlem in Netherlands in 1985
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